It Happened One Night
by mrs.salvatore39
Summary: Selina Kyle is on the run, so is Bruce Wayne. They try to escape Gotham, but the city will always pull them back. Espcially when the darkest enemies they know come together to take them down. LEMON with action and danger
1. Chapter 1

_a/n: my regular readers will know me for TVD, but I've recently become obsessed with the love of Batman & Catwoman. There is just something about them that pulls me in, makes it impossible for me to resist. My fingers have been aching to write something for them for well over a month now and the other night driving home gave me an idea for a novel. _

_Well, I don't have much time for novel writing thanks to my devotion to fanfiction, but I hate forgetting ideas so I figured I would take these two characters and throw them into a slight AU world and see how it pans out. I plan on doing a slightly more canon fic for them as well, but for now I find this idea intriguing and I hope you do to._

Bruce could feel the rain seeping into his suit almost the moment he stepped out of the car. The engine breaking down this morning; fine he could deal with that. The radio that fizzled and couldn't find a station now thanks to the damaged antenna; he could learn to live with silence. But this! A flat tire at two in the morning, in the middle of nowhere! No, Bruce Wayne could not handle this. He shouldn't have to handle this. Grumbling to himself he cursed, kicked the offending tire and went around to the trunk. Realizing he'd forgotten to pop it to begin with, he now stomped over to the drivers side, pulled the lever and marched back. He took a deep, settling breath and threw open the trunk lid.

The small, orange lightbulb glowed but gave no redemption. In the place where a spare tire was supposed to sit was nothing. He was stranded.

* * *

Selena pushed harder on the gas pedal, her black heels balancing against the soft carpet of the Audi. It was probably not the best choice to steal this car. Especially since she was wanting to disappear, but it was nice to drive. And it was fast. And she needed fast right now. She needed to get away from that damned city and that damned man as fast as possible. She turned up the radio a little louder, the rock soothing her as the windshield wipers battled the violent rain. She noticed her hands were tight on the wheel and she took a deep breath, forcing her body to relax. The glittering lights of Gotham were far, far away and yet she looked back in the rear view mirror again, afraid perhaps that they would follow her. Her paranoia, her fear and her exhaustion were all getting to her.

She would have to stop soon, she knew it. She just wasn't ready to give up running quite yet. Something so natural was hard to simply stop.

* * *

Bruce heard the engine off in the distance and looked back over his shoulder. The headlights were dim through the rain but he could definitely make out the shape of a car. An import by the sounds of it. He slammed the trunk with force, not really impressed with fancy import cars at the moment and stepped to the side of the car, hoping to flag the driver down. His hand was already in his back pocket, feeling for his wallet and making sure that it was there in case he needed to bribe the driver with a Benjamin Franklin or two. The car slowed as it approached and he wondered briefly why another driver of a car of this caliber would be on a road such as this. On a night such as this. He considered the idea of a villan behind the wheel but as it slowly stopped next to him and the automatic low whirring of the window lowering he pushed the thought aside.

"Are you alright?" the voice that called to him was female and he stepped closer to the car to inside. The lights from the dashboard illuminated her face and he nodded.

"I am. My car however has seen better days." He couldn't help noticing how beautiful she was, her long raven hair hung in loose curls down her back, her green eyes almost an emerald color. He noticed the way she bit her bottom lip as she thought, those eyes studying him.

"Know how to change a flat tire?" she almost sounded like she was teasing him, no doubt judging him thanks to the suit, the Rolex and his perfectly cut- albeit- wet hair.

"It seems the spare is already on the car. It's a rental."

"Ah." She nodded understandingly and glanced at the road ahead of her. That bottom lip had found its way back between her teeth. "I guess I could give you a lift. If you promise not to kill me."

He laughed at her joke, and nodded. "You got it. I'll just grab my bag."

Selena nodded and set the car in park. What was she doing? She had to get as far away as she could by sunrise! What part of that was so hard to understand? Now she was stopping on deserted back roads and helping a Suit that clearly didn't know a thing about cars. Probably didn't know a thing past that briefcase he'd just tossed into her back seat. When he was next to her and the door was shut she shifted back into drive and took off down the road. They sat in less than comfortable silence for a few minutes before he reached over and turned the music down. She threw him a glare, but he seemed unaffected by it.

"This is a nice car." He stated before she could say anything rude.

She felt like saying it was nicer than his, but held her tongue on the matter. "Thank you. It's not mine though."

"Fancy rental for you to?"

The question made her heart skip a beat. At least she knew he wasn't a cop. "You could say that."

"Did you steal it?" he asked a little more pointedly and she shifted in her seat.

"What makes you ask that?" she tried to giggle but it came out a twisted squeak.

"Because it's my car."

His answer was so matter a fact she almost didn't understand it. "I beg your pardon."

He turned in his seat to look at her more clearly. "I thought Catwoman only stole jewels."

_a/n: this is sort of a teaser, just a taste to get you hooked. Anyone hooked? Anyone want more? Let me know :D_


	2. Chapter 2

_a/n: I have to admit, the response I got from this was far better than I expected considering it's going into a completely different dimension than what I normally write. Here is a bit about what is in store for those of you (and I hope a few of my regulars are out there for kicks), that decide to come on this journey with me._

_1. There will be smut. I'm writing it, so obviously; smut.  
__2. It is a little AU considering the realm of Bat&Cat that most ppl know, but honestly things have been screwed around so many times in this universe that I feel okay if not sad tweaking it a little.  
__3. If this goes off well there will be more. We all know I can't stay away from a good thing.  
__4. I am open to suggestions and requests. If you know me, you know why ;)  
__5. I am NOT a huge Batman fan. It's the sad and honest truth. I AM a huge Catwoman fan. I was introduced to Bruce Wayne early on, but my mom raised me in a Superman world so Batman didn't really make a huge impact on my life until this year. However, my love and devotion to this fandom, the characters and the specific ship I'm writing is becoming somewhat of a new obsession so please forgive me while I'm getting my footing in Gotham._

_Enjoy!_

Bruce Wayne couldn't believe it. All these weeks he's spent chasing Catwoman and here she was. Right next to him. In _his _stolen car, but still here.

She stuttered, keeping her eyes on the road. She did not liking stuttering. It was a bad habit and one that she prided herself on not having. Apparently not tonight. "I…I..I really don't know what you're talking about. My name is Selina."

"Oh," he sighed and leaned back in his seat, visibly more relaxed. "so not Catwoman then?"

He could see her knuckles whiten on the steering wheel. "No."

"Well, this does happen to be a stolen car; and it is mine."

"It can't be. A friend gave it to me."

"Ah," Bruce nodded slowly. "and who might this friend be?"

"Jack." She nearly shuddered at the thought of him but kept her back as straight as she could handle it. "His name is Jack."

"Well I sincerely hope it's not the Jack I know of." Bruce said almost nonchalantly, looking out the window.

Selina cursed, slammed on the breaks and stopped the car in the middle of the dirt road. "I can't do this. You accuse me of stealing your car and then calmly sit here as if nothing is wrong. You accuse me of being Catwoman when you don't know anything about me, and yet you don't seem nervous."

"Selina," he said her name and she nearly shivered. Why the hell did it sound like a caress? "I want to get away from Gotham. You are clearly headed in the same direction; and for the moment that is all that matters to me. Things like whether or not you stole my car or if you happen to be the catburgular all over the news; those things can be dealt with in the morning. If you'd rather idly chat about the terrible weather we' ve been having, discuss why we are both running or sit in idle silence; the ball is in your cart."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Bruce Wayne." He smiled and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

She stared at it dumbfounded for a few minutes and then slowly reached out to take it.

In one smooth move he had her hand tight in his, her knuckles pressed to his lips. "What is Bruce Wayne doing out in the rain all alone? Don't you have a nanny?"

Bruce grimaced, but didn't release her hand. "Alfred is not my nanny."

"My apologies Mr. Wayne." She batted her eyelashes at him and he slowly smiled. "Idle silence it is. There is a motel about an hour away. It's not your usual standards or anything, but it's a bed and a roof. Of course, you are always welcome to sleep in your car."

He caught her smirk as she started the engine again. "A motel will be fine."

* * *

The rest of the car ride was fairly silent, aside from Mister Fortune 500's snores next to her. Selina couldn't help smiling when it started, not at all surprised that he'd fallen asleep. It was nearing two am and it didn't really look like this Suit was used to staying up late. Behind the humor and teasing in his eyes she'd seen stress and fatigue. Either it was past his bedtime, or he hadn't gone to bed in a few days. Surely the pending dangers under Gotham weren't making news enough all the way up to the penthouse level of Wayne Tower. Even if it had, she had a few more important things to worry about. Like why Bruce Wayne could so easily pick her out as Catwoman and why the hell he seemed to know so much about her.

It wasn't that he'd come right out and said anything; it was just the way he looked at her. Like he'd read _the _file on her or something. Granted, he was rich but did he have those kinds of connections. And if he did why would he be interested in her? None of it made any sense. She shook her head, feeling her eyes getting heavy. Where the hell was this motel? She'd remembered Harley telling her about a few months ago. She and Ivy had hidden a stash of supplies here. Kind of 'just in case' loot. Things were not good down there and the underworld was not getting the solid footing it needed. Between Joker testing everyone's sanity that came near him and Oswald's repeated attempts at his 'greed is good' speech, she would have been willing to bet that the whole lot of them were going to start taking each other out before Batman or the Gotham Police Department found them.

That was why she had to get away. She'd seen the way Jack had been eyeing her. It wasn't the way he had before. No, she knew that he'd wanted to be in some sick twisted threesome sandwhich with her and Harley and he'd received a broken nose or two from mentioning it. The looks she'd been getting from him these past few weeks had made her skin crawl. She felt like she was next, like he was going to hang her by her toe nails and torture her into telling him all her greatest fears and then slowly, one by one put her through each one until she overdosed on fear. She'd seen him do it, and it was a very effective way to drive someone to madness. She often wondered just what it was about him that made Harley so crazy in love. Key word; crazy.

Sure, Catwoman was part of the group. Some might even call her Queen of the Criminal Underworld. Hell, she'd even liked that title for a few days. Then the looks had started, and not just from the Joker. Ivy hadn't looked all that impressed that she wasn't the center of attention, and then the press ran with it. They cast her as the leader of it all when really she wanted nothing to do with all the crap they went through. If she thought she could leave Gotham and go steal jewels anywhere in the world she would. But something stopped, something kept her from running. Until tonight. And damn; did running feel good. She didn't want to stop but she certainly couldn't escape Gotham dead, so when she saw the pink neon lights through the rain she sighed.

'MOTEL' burned through the sky and she followed the road toward it, not sure how to wake up her new companion. When she pulled up to the office she looked over at him, hoping that shutting off the engine would rouse him. It did nothing and she poked his arm hesitantly. He gave a small grumble but did little more than lick his lips and settle back against the seat. "Wake up sleeping beauty." She whispered, poking him a little harder. Then suddenly she was being pinned back against her seat, his hands tight around her wrists as he held them above her head. His eyes were on fire and he looked ready to kill. "Whoa, defensive much."

The calm came back over his eyes fluidly like a mask and the tense muscles in his hands and arms relaxed. "I apologize."

She let out a breath as he pulled back, pushing her hair back from her face. "You okay there Wayne?"

He looked at her, almost amused from the corner of his eye. "I guess I'm just…jumpy."

She shook off a familiar feeling, and took the keys from the ignition. "What do you say we get a room and then maybe in the morning we won't both be so jumpy."

His smirk deepened and she blushed, realizing how naughty that had sounded. "I'll follow you."

She hated blushing, so she turned away and got out, cursing the rain for making the ground soft. She wiggled her heel out of the dirt and stepped up onto the walkway, turning back to see Bruce getting out of the car. "What are you staring at?" she demanded, not meaning to sound so pissed, but unable to help he.

He seemed not at all bothered by her sharpness. "Admiring your ass in that dress." Her mouth, open and closed twice, no words forming. "Am I not allowed to compliment a beautiful woman?" he asked, standing next to her.

"If you can call that a compliment." She mumbled.

"Are there rules against flirting?"

Selina knew the game he was playing. She'd heard the rumors about Bruce Wayne. She'd seen the way he worked a room of girls at parties. "If you call that flirting, what do you call this?"

She reached up to the lapels of his suit jacket and tugged him down. The kiss was hot and hard and she felt herself leaning into him more than she meant to. He felt so strong, a shock to her and she melted a few centimeters more into his arms. Normally Suits were fit, but not this. She could _feel _his muscles beneath the dark linen as even darker thoughts crept into her mind. When she was done she shoved him away, turned on her heel and walked into the office, leaving a thoroughly confused, horny and drenched Bruce out in the rain. He gave into the shock for a minute before laughing. No woman before had ever called him out on his crap and it just had to be the first girl not willing to swoon for him was one he could never have.

_a/n: this chapter is a bit longer than the last one, but I have to cut it there because I still have a lot to do on my one day off of work. I'm hoping you're still out there and you're still hooked.  
__Some of you may have caught my little 'egg'. For those of you that didn't Oswald is Penguin and Jack is the Joker. Just so you know._


	3. Chapter 3

_a/n: in the last chapter I gave you a bit of a look into Selina's past and why she is running. Now it's Bruce's turn. But not before our Catwoman gets a little eyeful first *wink*_

Selina stepped out of the shower, the thin white towel already wrapped around her body. She brushed a hand over the fogged mirror and looked at herself. Her dark hair was getting longer, but that was okay. It reminded her of the old days. Days when she had to put it up to keep it out of her face while she cracked combinations. When did it all get so complicated? Everything. Selina glanced down at her hand, the dirt not all gone from beneath her nails. Gotham dirt. Would she ever be able to wash it all away. Thoughtfully she sniffed her skin, her hair. Would she ever be able to rid herself of the smell of that damned city? She sighed and grabbed a second towel to dry her hair. After a few minutes she made sure the towel was secure before stepping out of the bathroom and finding Bruce on the phone.

He was standing with his back to her, looking out the window of their little motel room. His jaket, shirt and tie were laying across the back of the lone chair in the room. The sight of his naked back took her breath away and she had to gulp air back into her lungs. It wasn't just the muscles that grabbed her attention. It was the scars. Why so many scars for a Suit with a fancy hair cut? Everyone had their secrets and she was dying to know his. Curiosity killing the cat and all that good stuff. There was not a single pun lost on Selina. She'd heard them all. And after a while, not any of them were funny. She let her eyes slowly caress down his spine, swipe over the line of his hips and down across his ass. Was it a crime to be an ass girl? Those linen trousers certainly did great things for his. Then she saw his shoulders tense and he turned to see her. He didn't pause his conversation, just simply met her eyes over the small room and a little smile tugged his lips up.

She was in a dungy motel room with Bruce Wayne in nothing more than a thin white towel that barely reached her thighs. He was shirtless and so sad looking and she just felt _something _in her heart tug. Quickly, she squashed the sensation and jutted her hip out, her hand on it; posing for him. She couldn't let her heart feel, she wouldn't. And especially not for someone that she wouldn't see after tomorrow. Sunrise was going to come in a few hours and she would have to be out of here. Without the baggage that was the devasting handsome man before her. He smirked, running his eyes up and down her legs, looking her over as she'd done to him. And she let him; after all it was only fair. Slowly, she walked over to her case, looking for a change of clothes. They smelled like her old life. The lavender from her perfume, the dust from her apartment and the tang of Gotham that hung in the air between her and Bruce.

The smell of Gotham was very; intentional. It was a little tempting, a little dark. Just enough to lure you in. There was the underlying scent of rust; decay, destruction. Gotham never lied. It knew how messed up it was. How doomed it was. And yet, it kept you coming back. Well not this time. She would not go back this time. Bruce ended his call and she frowned to herself, a little upset that she hadn't paused her line of thinking long enough to eavesdrop. "There should still be some hot water if you want to have a shower." She murmured, pulling out a pale pink nightgown. She didn't particularly like the color, but the silk felt great against her skin and when she wore it, she could close her eyes at night and pretend she was far away from the lights and the sounds and the impending.

"Thank you." He sounded dark, just as dark as Gotham and she felt the tug again. No, she would not miss it. She would not think of her apartment. She would not think of her lovely pets she'd left behind. She looked up, begging herself not to cry. She would not break. She could not break. Not in front of him at least. Not until she got far enough away from Gotham that it didn't matter anymore.

"There is something about you Bruce, that puts me a little on edge. I'm not sure I like it."

His eyes widened slightly, shocked by her honesty. The darkness was gone from his voice when he spoke again. He was suave now, the playboy and she hated that she like it. "My apologies Miss Kyle. Most women find my presence charming."

"I find your presence…" she searched for the right word as she grabbed a black lace thong from the corner.

"Intimidating?" his cocky smirk made her hand ache to slap him.

"Uncomfortable."

He strode over to her, shocking her by running his hand through her damp hair. There was a inch or two between their bodies but she could feel the heat radiating off his bare skin. And she liked it. "How is this for uncomfortable?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but knew her voice would crack if she spoke just yet. Instead she cleared it, closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Go have a shower Wayne."

"I like the way you say my last name. You make it sound like a swear word."

"That's because I'm cursing you."

He laughed, kissed her hard and stepped back. "That's for earlier." He said, referencing her kiss outside and then he strode past her and closed the bathroom door behind him.

She waited until the water turned on to let her shoulders sag and the air out of her lungs. Yes, she definitely had to get as far away from him as quickly as possible. He was perhaps more dangerous to her well being than Gotham. Letting the towel drop to the ugly orange carpet she stepped into her black panties and then pulled on the nightgown. It was shorter than the towel had been, but she didn't care. Bruce Wayne could look at her all he wanted know, because come sunrise he would never see her again. She glanced around the room, taking a moment to absorb her surroundings. There was one bed, a couch and the chair with his clothes hanging over it. His suitcase and bag were by the door and her fingers itched to go through them. Not that she wanted to take anything necessarily, just see what he was. Who he was really.

Instead, she grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed and crawled onto the sofa. Part of her wanted to test him, see what he would say when he came out. Would he insist she take the bed? Would his cute spoiled brat ass take advantage of the fact she wasn't in the bed? Was she as bad as Jack testing him like this? She shuddered at the thought and wrapped herself up a little tighter, resting her head on her arm. There was a low hum coming from the bathroom, and only her trained ears would have been able to catch it. Bruce wasn't singing, but he was definitely humming to himself and she found the sound almost soothing. Too soothing. She hadn't planned to fall asleep.

* * *

Bruce tilted his head back under the spray and worked his long fingers through the soap. He missed the pressure of his shower head at home. Shaking the thought away he took a deep breath. He wouldn't think about Wayne Manor. He wouldn't think about Alfred. He'd left it all behind, all of it. He still had a few things to take care of, finish up before he completely disappeared. The call he'd made had been to Luscious, cancelling the changes he'd ordered to the BatWing last week. There was no point is wasting the money now. Donate it, burn it. What did it matter? There was too damn much of it anyway. Not that he didn't like money. He loved money. He loved the things he could get from money, do with money, give back with money. He didn't like the fact that the world ran on it, that everyone seemed so greedy for it but he did like the fact that he had enough of it to make the little changes that he could. His impact on the world didn't go far past Gotham right now, but it would.

Or at least that had been the plan. Until Rachel had left. She hadn't been able to handle the Batman. She hadn't been able to handle the lonely nights and the fear that he wouldn't come home in one piece; if at all. He could understand that. He could respect that. The lump in his chest formed again, but he pushed it down and turned to face the spray, sticking his face under it and attempted to wash away the thoughts of what it had felt like to drive away from everything he had known since the day he was born. He'd left his home, his career, his alter ego, his parent's graves, the man that raised him, the woman he loved. He'd left it all. He'd had to get away, and he felt like a coward. There was definitely something coming, he'd felt it in the air. He'd felt in the stirrings of the people.

It had never been in him to run before, it just wasn't. He was justice, he was good. He wasn't a coward that ran and hid in the shadows while others fought and fell. He wasn't a savior exactly, but he wasn't a condemner either. And leaving Gotham behind had basically been the beginning of their demise. But how long was he supposed to be the Batman? How long was he supposed to sacrifice his body, his mind, his happiness for a city that only seemed to fall again and again? The darkness inside of him wasn't just self pity now, it was self loathing and every second it took all of his strength not to get in the car and drive back to Gotham.

He rinsed off completely and then stepped out, realizing that the only two towels Selina had used. One was soaking wet from her hair, and the other he assumed was out in the room. He entertained the idea that it still might be on her, but decided he'd much rather that pink silk excuse for a nightgown on her instead. She seemed more like a black leather kind of girl. He smirked, remembering the way Catwoman moved in her black catsuit and shook his head. At one time he imagined how it would feel to have that body move beneath him, over him. Now he had her and he couldn't even tell her who he was. One more person knowing his true identity would make it even harder to run away. Run away, the term tasted like poison on his tongue. Bruce slid through the door back into the room, finding it mostly dark except for the red neon glow through the window.

He could see the outline of Selina's body against the couch and found her towel with his foot when he stepped closer. The big bed was empty and he found it curious that she'd chosen the couch over the mattress. Then again the thought of everyone that had slept in that bed was hardly appetizing. He wrapped the towel around his waist and bent to pick her up. He'd had her in his arms before, but they were too busy beating the crap out of each other to really pay attention to how good it felt. He kept her against his chest with one arm as he pulled the sheet back with the other. When he laid her down on the mattress he took a second to memorize the sight of her. The lace hem of her nightgown brushed high on her thighs, her hair spread out over the pillow as she settled in the bed.

He watched her shift closer, her tongue dart out quickly to lick her lips. She gave a slight moan as she half awoke. "Bruce?"

"It's okay. I just moved you to the bed. I'll take the couch."

A knowing smile came on her lips, her eyes still closed. He turned away but she reached out and brushed her fingers against his palm. "I hate sleeping alone."

He didn't need anymore of a invitation and she didn't give one. With a nod he walked around to the other side of the bed and got in next to her. They didn't touch, they didn't even roll toward each other. But it was the first night either of them hadn't slept alone in a long time.

_a/n: I guess Bruce got a look an eyeful or two himself as well. New chapter coming this week._


	4. Chapter 4

_a/n: I am so excited to be writing this story. Don't get me wrong, I love TVD and I love writing Damon and Elena but this fresh start with new characters is so…well refreshing lol it's allowing me to get better at this silly hobby I call writing. I needed a few new brains to get into and a new city. _

_I have no idea where this story is going to go, but I do know that I'm hoping it's going to be a pretty wild journey. _

_This chapter is dedicated to my Batman *wink*_

_p.s. I was told that an Audi is not exactly Bruce's style so you'll have to forgive me on that point. I am assuming the playboy has more than a car or two in the garage…_

Selina let sleep slowly ease from her body as she stretched her arms up above her head. Slowly, she absorbed her surroundings, eyes still closed. She could feel the sheet beneath her, over her but they weren't made of the expensive silk she had in her apartment. The pillow wasn't nearly as comfortable as hers, and there was no familiar warmth at the end of her bed or purring from the four cats she kept. There was warmth next to her though; snoring warmth and her eyes popped open. It hadn't been a dream. She had slept next to Bruce Wayne all night. In a bed. In a sleazy motel room. With his Audi outside. She sat up slowly, twisting her body away from his and letting her feet slip onto the orange carpeting. She'd really done it, she'd left Gotham.

Now, she had to get into the room next to theirs, find the hidden stash Ivy had left and leave Bruce Wayne in the dust. It was to protect herself, as much as him. She was no good for this man anymore than he was good for her. She kept one eye on him as she padded over to her suitcase and tugged tight black jeans up and under her pink nightgown. She slid on leather flats and watched his chest rise and fall, aware that his snoring had stopped. He rolled over, big and broad, reaching out over the mattress where she'd been. When he found nothing he pulled her pillow in under his arm and the snoring began again. She let out the breath she'd been holding, and then realized what she'd just seen.

She'd woken up in the same position she'd fallen asleep in, but that didn't mean they hadn't cuddled. Ugh, cuddling. The word made her shiver in fear. The only thing Selena Kyle cuddled were her pets and her jewels. Never men…no men took cuddling and cut right to her heart with it. Just looking at him now, she could see that Bruce was one of those kinds of guys. He would give a girl diamonds and flowers, love her until sunrise and then send her away just when she was getting close enough for it to all mean something. She made her way over to the door, tugging a black sweater over her head. She would need to be in and out of the room, and then back in bed before Bruce woke up. She didn't want to answer any of his questions of where she'd been. On a second thought, she pulled her pick from her purse and slid it in her back pocket. Five minutes, that's all she would have.

When Selina stepped out of the room, the early morning air chilled her right through her sweater to her bones. She looked around, finding that everyone was still asleep. There was no one outside and she smiled. Perfect. One less witness she would have to deal with. It was bad enough the night desk hand had seen them come together. She crept to the room next door and peeked through the windows. The bed was empty, perfectly made and gave no signs that anyone was staying in it. Not that guests would have stopped her. One night, she crept into a couple's bedroom and stole the wife's entire jewelry collection. Ten minutes it had taken, in and out the window without waking them. Then of course, the window had been open and she'd been bare foot thanks to a few hungry guard dogs. She frowned, remembering her Monola Blonicks fondly and shook her head.

When she got out of here she could buy as many pairs as she wanted. Not that she was obsessed with shoes or anything. Just that she wanted the best. The best for herself and the best meant she needed money. Selina crouched down next to the lock and thanked the heavens that this motel was ancient enough that it didn't have the card key system yet. Old fashioned deadbolts were her piece of pie. Within a minute she was inside the room. Ivy hadn't told her where she and Harley had hidden the bag, but she would figure it out. She had to. Four minutes. With a sigh, Selina looked around the room quickly. It was an almost identical match to hers. Even the painting above the bed was the same. It was a bit crooked and just for kicks she checked behind it. There was nothing but a dusty, dirty wall.

Defeat wanted to creep in on her but she shook it off and quickly checked the bathroom. It was so small there was no way that she could have seen anything hiding in there. There were no room safes, and the drawers of the lone dresser were empty. There was nothing behind or under the television and beneath the bed was completely clean, save for a couple used, disgusting condoms. She wrinkled her nose at the sight and stood up. The scowl on her face deepened. Was she in the wrong room? Had Harley lied to her? Selina couldn't bare to think those thoughts, but she sighed all the same. Two minutes. Then she saw it, and her heart skipped a beat.

One of the tile's on the roof wasn't perfectly in place. It was a long shot, and she had to balance on the edge of the dresser to reach it, but she managed to push it aside. Blind to what was up in the dark roof, she felt around with her hand. There was nothing; nothing but dirt and dust and what she hoped was a furry mouse. Not a rat. She hated rats. At least if it was a mouse she could imagine it was nice and ate cheese in a cute hole in the wall. Then she felt the strap of a bag and wrapped her hand around it. With a quick tug, she had the bag on the floor, pausing for a moment to see if anyone had heard the thud. When there was no sound following it, she leapt down and peered inside. It was a carpet bag, old fashioned and looked like it was ready to fall apart, but she didn't care.

There wasn't time to count, but she saw a healthy stack of money, a few closed cases of jewelry and some passports. There was a time, about a year ago that she, Harley and Ivy had considered living Gotham together. It had been a bad night, and she didn't like to think of it. Harley had come over with a bottle of Vodka and a few fresh bruises. It was obvious that Jack had gotten a little out of control, so Selina had called Ivy and they talked about what it would be like if they'd never gotten mixed up in all this hell. The Vodka had helped and they'd agreed to have a backup plan just in case. Selina had passports with different names made for them all, but the next morning when she went to show the girls they both pretended as if nothing had happened. Harley was happy being the Joker's girl; no matter what that meant and Ivy was too far gone to ever really leave Gotham.

Still though, Selina climbed back up on the dresser and hid their passports and a couple stacks of money with them. Then she slid the tile back in place and stepped out of the room. The bag was heavy on her arm, but she took the weight as comforting. When she settled her eyes on Bruce again, she found him still in bed with his back to the door. Her pillow was discarded on the floor and he'd started snoring again. She dropped her new bag behind her suitcase, wondering if he would ask about it. She quickly peeled off her sweater and her jeans, the nightgown still on. The bed had grown cold in her absence, but she could feel the heat from his bare skin as she lifted the blanket to climb under it.

That was when she discovered he was completely naked, and had been all night. He must have gotten into bed in only the towel, and she could feel her blood heat inside her. She felt her cheeks flush and couldn't help the smirk on her face. His ass looked even better out of those linen suit pants. A giggle escaped her lips and she heard his breathing halt. Her heart skipped a beat, dreading the moment he would wake up and break the spell. It had been so nice, having him quiet and not bothering more than her libido. With a grumble, he rolled over and looked at her through half open eyes, a half goofy smile on his lips. "Good morning."

His tone was dark, deep. Deeper than she was used to from him in the short time they'd spent together but it was familiar and she felt herself shiver from the sound of it. No one had that kind of a voice except for- No. She mentally slapped herself. She wouldn't think about _him. _He was just as dangerous as staying in this room for ten more minutes. She should have just left when she was outside. It would have been so easy, so why hadn't she done it? Why had she come back, gotten back in this bed with him? Then his hand slid over her waist and down to rest on her hip. "You know Selina. You're the first beautiful women I've slept beside naked that's worn something like that, and I haven't made a move."

She wondered briefly if he expected a gold star. "Congratulations. You're aren't the complete slut everyone in Gotham says you are."

He laughed and pulled her closer. "That wasn't very nice."

"I never said I was nice." She stated matter of factly, her hand pressing against his chest. "Let me go Bruce."

"Do you want me to?" she felt his grip loosen, felt some of the heat fade from her body. Why did he, of all people, of all mornings have to make her feel like this? She didn't want to feel like this! She was running away from a feeling like this.

"No." slowly she looked up and met his eyes and he smiled.

"I wonder," he murmured, reaching up to pull her bottom lip from between her teeth. "what it would be like to kiss you without all that hostility and tension."

"You'll never find out." She challenged, tensing her muscles, ready for a fight.

"I think I'm going to try anyway." He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in close, gently running his lips along hers before sliding his tongue between her teeth, searching.

She moaned, letting her eyes close and roll into the back of her head. She wrapped her leg around his, pulling herself closer to his body as he tugged at the hair near the back of her scalp. Then he wasn't kissing her anymore, his lips were trailing down her face, her chin, her neck. She felt his teeth scrape along her collarbone, felt his mouth on the rise of her breasts. His other hand slid beneath her, and pulled her up, and over him so she was straddling his hips. Her eyes opened then and she glared down at him. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded, unable to help wiggling her hips in search for friction.

The air between them had been humming with sexual tension from the moment she unrolled the window of their stolen car. "That's just it Selina. I'm not thinking. Try it, with me. Right here. Don't think."

"I can't stop thinking." She shook her head, wishing he could understand but knowing that he never could. "I'm not like you Bruce."

He wished she could see just how much he did understand about the way she felt. But there were no masks here tonight and he didn't have to pretend to be something he wasn't. He wanted this woman, wanted her since the first time he saw her in that tight leather suit. If he hadn't been so distracted by the way she moved, he might have been able to catch her. Then the second time he'd heard a call about a cat burglar, he'd gone hoping it was her. They'd fought, he'd had her pinned against a wall, her hot breath on his face as she'd shouted and swore at him. He'd seen the kick coming, but he let it happen anyway and one more time he'd watched her jump out the window. From then on, he'd gotten closer and closer to catching her, even had her in handcuffs; in the Batmobile one night.

But she'd wiggled a small bottle of something from between her cleavage, sprayed it and he'd blacked out. When he had woken up, he was parked sideways in the middle of downtown Gotham and there was nothing in his passenger seat but the pair of handcuffs she'd been wearing. He wanted her, and he couldn't have her. He couldn't catch her, so he couldn't take her. He couldn't take her in, he couldn't take her to bed, not as Batman anyway. But here, in this motel room as Bruce Wayne and her having no idea who he was really, he could have her all to himself. All she had to do was give in. "I know this isn't smart Selina, but you can't deny that it feels right. That it feels good."

"Feeling good and feeling right are not the same thing. Normally, very bad things can feel very good."

"Then be bad with me." With a devilish smile he lifted his head and brought her mouth to his, careful not to crush her with his arms.

She murmured against his lips, her hands sliding up his chest and around his neck. Then she was pulling him closer, amazing him by the lack of desperation in the kiss. It was heated, it was raw passion. He could feel how badly she wanted him, but at the same time he could feel how easily she could just get up and walk away from him. And he didn't like that one bit. His hands tightened around her waist, his nails digging into the skin of her lower back, leaving marks and he couldn't help but smirk. After all, she was the cat. Shouldn't she be scratching him? Then, she surprised him; her nails digging into his shoulders as she pulled him up so she was sitting in his lap.

He felt her wrap her legs around his waist, moving against him, grinding against him. Her lips were on his neck, licking and sucking then up at his ear lobe. Her teeth nibbled and he gritted his teeth, slipping his finger into the front of her thong and pulling it to the side. She gasped, feeling him tease her and bit down hard on her lip. He kissed her then, lifting her hips over him and letting her lower onto him slowly. Painfully slowly. "Bad suits you Wayne." She whispered, rolling her hips against his.

He gripped her shoulders, lowering her onto her back. She watched him rise up over her, glaring down. He seemed displeased with what she said, but he didn't comment. Just leaned in and kissed her hard. She forgot everything then, only focusing on him being inside her, devouring her; taking her. His mouth was smooth, and he tasted a little salty. Then both his hands were in her hair and he was crushing her closer to him, molding her body to his until she wasn't sure where she ended and he began. He had been right; there was no need to think or rationalize the emotions behind what they were doing. He could tell from the way she returned his kisses; the gentle, then rough and wild way she touched him- that she was not the only one affected. How could she not sense that he was the same man that had pinned her against the wall?

Could she not feel the familiar spark? The sizzle in the air when they looked into each other's eyes? He sensed the pressure building within her and pulled back from the kiss, wanting to hear her. Wanting to see her face. She tried to reach up, to pull him closer, but he resisted, holding her arms above her head. He moved faster, feeling her tighten around him. She was close, too close, too soon. He didn't want it to be over already. Not after he'd worked so hard to get here with her. He shut his eyes and made sure her legs were tight around him before he lifted her. She groaned, feeling her back connect with the wall as he moved deeper inside her. She let her head fall back against the wall, her eyes shut tight as she absorbed every sensation.

It wasn't cold brick at her back as she'd imagined it would be with a man like this. Not that she'd allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to share a few minutes with-Damn him. She opened her eyes, kicking the idea of Batman from her mind. No, she would not think about him. Not only was it sad, it was rude. She wanted to be here, in the moment with Bruce. And then their eyes connected as he thrust into her one more time and she shuddered. Maybe it wasn't too bad to imagine Batman…they almost had the same color eyes. She noticed that Bruce's were a few shades lighter and could have sighed. It did her no good now to imagine what it would have been like with her-the caped crusader. She wouldn't have the chance again. That would mean going back to Gotham; something she would never do.

"You're not here." Bruce whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. "Come back to me Selina. Be in this moment with me."

She nodded and shut her eyes, only opening them when she had Batman completely from her mind. She felt every muscle in his arms as she held on, focused on the rough pleasure as he rocked her against the wall. She felt his fingers dig into her skin, his hands cupping her ass as he held her up. "I'm here." She thrust back against him, pushing him deeper inside her.

He gritted his teeth, holding her tighter against him. "You do something to me Selina." He admitted quietly as she closed her eyes.

"Try not to think about it." she smiled, her nails leaving long, red claw marks on his chest as she felt herself lose control.

* * *

Selina looked up from where she rested her cheek on Bruce's arm. She had to move. She had to get away from him. Before she got anymore damn comfortable with him. Slowly, she eased back and off the bed. He grunted and moved toward her, but she missed his hand, shoving her pillow in his arms. He seemed satisfied with that, no doubt exhausted from round two. She looked over at the upended chair and smiled, thanking the heavens that she was flexible. Dressing quickly, she did her best not to look back at him. If she did, she had a very real feeling that she might climb back into that bed and waste away her chance of escape. So she closed her suitcase, now stuffed with the money and the jewlery from the carpet bag and moved toward the door. Bruce's bag was still sitting there and she crouched down beside it, taking a moment to peek inside.

She caught sight of a velvet box and pulled it out. Inside was a double string of pearls and her eyes widened. Why was he carying these around? Part of her felt horrible for looking at them, the other half lusted for them. She ran her fingertips over the surface and smiled. They were so smooth. It wasn't that she didn't think he would miss the; he would definitley notice they were gone the moment he unpacked, but she took them from the box and fastened them around her neck, pulling her sweater over top of them. The pearls were cool against her skin and she shivered slipping the now empty box back in it's place. She wanted something to remember him by other than bruises, sore thighs and this empty feeling in her chest.

* * *

Bruce didn't remember how they got back to the bed, but he assumed they must have when he felt the mattress beneath him. He reached for Selina, finding the bed empty and his eyes opened. He was alone. Sitting up, he shook the remainders of his nap away from his brain and he finally heard what had woke him up. The pounding on the door became more furious. "Gotham Police Department!"

He suddenly wished he was as gone as Catwoman.

_a/n: so…I ended up putting the smut into the story a lot sooner than I meant to. It was just too hard to deny them any longer. I do promise, that it won't be the last time._


	5. Chapter 5

_a/n: it's been a while since I've taken the time to sit down and write for this story. I needed to get a few things in order and decide what villains I wanted to bring back for this fic.  
__I am fairly new to the whole Gotham universe, but my addiction and obsession is growing quickly. At first this started out as just a general smut fic with a bit of story to keep it going on for some chapters, but as it progressed in my mind and my appetite for all things BatCat grew I decided to do something very daring.  
__I am going to attempt to write something…epic…and pray that it does not crash and burn. With the help of my very own Batman who is showing great patience with me I will hopefully be able to do all of the characters you will see appearing justice._

_Oh, but don't worry! There will be more smut. After all, it is still me writing…_

Selina sighed, letting her forehead rest against the cool glass of her Paris hotel room. She could smell the lavender from the vase next to the bed, she could hear the water running from the bathroom and sighed, thinking of the warm scented water that waited for her to sink into. She could feel the silk nightgown clinging to her body and squish the wonderful comfy carpet between her toes. She should be happy, she should be content. She was in the lap of luxury in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. She'd gotten away from Gotham, from Bruce Wayne, from Batman. Yet the memory of all three still settled on her shoulders. And if her ever chattering brain weren't enough, her body still responded to the mere memory of each man. It was entirely too hard not to miss them when all she could do dream about them. Even now, she could feel Bruce's hands ghosting over her bare skin. With a quick dart of her eyes she looked over at the newspaper still laying open on the end of her bed. She didn't have to see the headline again to remember what it said. The dark black letters were nearly etched into the back of her eyelids.

**BATMAN- STRONG ENOUGH FOR THIS?**

It had been a few days now that the headlines from Gotham had reached her hotel and she wondered who was sending the news this way. Things were not good, not for anyone. Even her people were being…taken out and not just by the Batman. Selina pushed away from the window and turned her back on the setting sun as it turned the sky behind the Eiffle Tower pink. She walked lazily toward the bathroom, doing her best to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as she passed by the newspaper. Both Batman and Bruce Wayne could take care of themselves. Neither needed her and it was about damn time that she stopped feeling like she needed them. As she dropped the robe to the tiled floor and stepped into the tub, she took a deep relaxing breath and closed her eyes. She'd escaped, she'd gotten away. That's all that mattered.

Her eyes opened, settling on the string of pears dangling out of her jewlery case and smiled. She'd worn those to the opera last night, her fingers rarely leaving the smooth surface. They were so soft, like Bruce's skin had been, save for the scars. She slid deeper into the water, letting her mind wander back into that morning she'd spent with him. She'd considered it odd before, but now she really gave herself a moment to consider. Too many scars for a boy that grew up with a nanny and a butler than was put in a suit and stuck up in an office. There had to be more to Bruce Wayne than the papers and the gossiping ladies mouths went on about. And was she even supposed to be thinking of him? No. Maybe taking those pearls had been a mistake afterall. Maybe she should just sell them and start settling everything that reminded her of Gotham.

But the thought alone made her sick and shook her head to herself. One day, maybe she would give Bruce back his pearls. And maybe one day Batman would give her back her heart.

* * *

Three Days Ago…

Bruce Wayne looked up as the door opened and Gordon walked in, flanked by two uniformed officers. "Thank you for coming in Bruce." He said, holding out his hand.

Bruce stood to shake it, glancing at the officers. "I didn't have much of a choice." He was still a bit grumpy that he'd woken up alone, and a bit more so that he'd been woken up by the Gotham Police Department asking him 'nicely' to accompany them back to Gotham.

"Their orders were to get you back here. It's important."

"It always is." Bruce settled back in the cool metal chair, deciding it was rather odd that he was in an interrogation room and not Jim's office. "Am I here for questioning?"

"Not exactly. I put you in here so we wouldn't be disturbed." Gordon looked at the two officers. "You can go now."

They hesitated for a moment at the door before backing out and shutting it behind them. "What's going on?" Bruce asked slowly, sensing there was something definitely going on. "What's so important we can't talk about it in front of them, or in your office?"

"First off, you should know that the cameras are off and there is no one behind the glass. We are completely alone."

"Alright." Bruce watched as Jim pulled a plastic evidence bag from the inside of his jacket and slid it over. "What's this?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. Unless of course you know of another Bruce in this city."

He shook his head and looked down, seeing the torn edged paper with a border of tiny green question marks. Immediately, his stomach settled to the pit and he leaned closer to read. It had been a good while since he'd heard from the Riddler.

_There is a storm coming Bruce, but not one of snow or ice_

_-those that make those will come thrice._

_The reward for your head is high, even for the dead to ignore._

_Your past will flash before your eyes_

_-just be careful you don't believe the lies._

_The last to come won't be a joke, you must remember all that I've spoke._

_Altogether their more than ten…am I one of them?_

There was a large R near the bottom of the page in a grand flourish and Bruce just knew, knew deep down in his bones that this was not going to end well. Something was coming, and it had been the same something that had him wanting to run. Instead, now he was dragged back here, to this town and basically ordered into saving it. Or at the very least been taunted back into his suit. He could figure out a bit of the riddle already, but he would need more if he was going to be fully prepared for whatever it was that was coming for him.

"Do you mind if I keep this?"

Gordon shook his head and pushed away from the desk, the metal chair legs screeching across the floor. "You will let me know, won't you Bruce?"

"I just have to talk to someone first."

Gordon sighed. "There hasn't been a sighting of the Batman for a little over a week. Are you sure you can find him?"

"I'm sure." Bruce slid the still bagged note into his jacket pocket and let Gordon lead him out. He had to get home to Alfred and unriddle whatever Ed had come up with this time.

* * *

The next morning, Bruce was already out of bed and going through his regular routine of push ups when Alfred knocked on the door and stepped in with breakfast. "Good morning Master Bruce." He nodded, setting the tray on the bedside table and glancing over at Bruce's notepad. There were a few balled up pieces of paper on the floor and a lot of scribbles and scratched out words on the one still attached to the pad. Alfred couldn't spy the pen at first until he saw it in the far corner of the room, apparently having been thrown by Bruce sometime last night. "How was your sleep?"

"What sleep?" Bruce exhaled and pushed himself up from the floor. "I couldn't get those damn words out of my head. I think I've figured out most of it though."

Alfred reached for a note card on the breakfast tray and handed it to Bruce. "This was on the doorstep this morning when I went to grab the paper. Perhaps it could help?"

Bruce took it, looking over the plain white cardstock. There seemed to be nothing wrong or peculiar about it, until he opened it up and saw the large green question mark on the top flap. He doubted this clue would help him much more than the last had.

_They come from a land of Wonder, but tonight they come to your city to plunder._

_This lunatic has brought his boys. _

_Batman, can you defeat him with all your toys?_

Once more the riddle was signed with the same elaborate R. This one was a bit easier to figure out, but that didn't mean he knew what exactly to expect anymore than he had before reading it. "Alfred, I think it's time I read a fairytale again."

* * *

The riddle had never told Bruce when to expect the first round in what was going to be a long list of his old foes coming out of the woodwork, so when the door of a restaurant on the only fancy side of Gotham exploded in shards of glass, he really shouldn't have been shocked. He hadn't been joking about reading a fairytale either when he'd mentioned it to Alfred earlier that morning, so when the Mad Hatter walked in, brandishing a familiar looking weapon and the feeble willed Tweeldee and Tweedledum marched after him, he greeted them by name. Their appearance while not expected there at this time, had been anticipated. But even the Riddler didn't seem to know everything, because behind the three men, walking in the White Rabbit.

_a/n: *pause for theatrical 'duhn duhn duhn' _


	6. Chapter 6

_a/n: I'm assuming you're as disappointed as I am that we have to wait in order to get Bruce and Selina back together in the same room, but it won't be long! Cuz I sure as hell can't wait for them to be together again._

The restaurant filled with silence as the glass settled on the ground and Bruce stood to face the villains that had just presented themselves.

* * *

Iceberge Lounge: Two Days Ago

The basement office belonging to the Penguin was the fullest he'd ever seen it. As Oswald looked around, he was very glad that he'd made a strict no weapons rule with these villains, considering most of them hated each other. Yet if they wanted to take down the Batman once and for all they were going to need to work together. He could see Ivy and Dent glaring at each other from their different corners. As usual, Harley was wrapped around Jack, whispering in his ear. His green hair was seemingly a bit more tamed tonight but the wild was still in his eyes.

Mr. Freeze was secluded from the rest of the group, his suit seeming to be the only companion he needed. There was a wistful look on his face, as there often was and Oswald wondered if he was thinking about his wife. Or whoever it was he had on ice in that homemade lab of his. Slowly, the Penguin stood and the dull roar of chattering stopped. "I want to thank you all for coming tonight. What I have to tell you is very important."

Scarecrow looked up from the mask he had hugged to his chest. "Enough with the theatrics Penguin. What did you drag us all down here for?"

Oswald threw the ex doctor a look but continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted. After all, he'd been preparing this speech for over a week. "The problem with Gotham is that the Batman controls everything we do. We can't make a single move without him coming down on us."

The Mad Hatter stepped forward, his tall hat twirling between his fingers. "We've all tried to defeat him though, and we've all failed. Some of us over and over again."

The Penguin nodded, coming around the desk to stand before them all. "Which is why, as of now I am putting a two million dollar hit out for the masked vigilante known as Batman. Dead or alive I want him brought here to the Iceberg Lounge before the end of the week."

Harvey Dent caught his coin in a fist and slowly looked up. "You must be kidding. Sending us all out there like that is basically suicide. We'll end up killing each other before we even get within an arms reach of him."

Oswald pulled off his hat and set it on the desk, taking a notepad and beginning to write everyone's names down. He paused when he noticed that Selina Kyle was not in the room. "Does anyone know where Catwoman is?" he asked, going back to writing names.

Harley piped up first, but her high voice shook and she sounded unsure. "We haven't heard from her in two days. The night before last one of Mr.J's cars went missing. We're guessing she took it and left Gotham."

The Joker laughed, looking intently at his nails for dirt, as of there wasn't enough caked beneath to satisfy. "She won't get far if she did. That women is tied to this town just like Batman is. Besides, I heard that car drove right back into town this morning."

Tweedledee and Tweedledum chortled in the background, whispering to each other until Hush turned his dark glare on them. "What is so damn funny?"

"It was Bruce Wayne in the car." Dumfree pointed out, showing the newspaper headline that reported the supposed missing millionaire returning home.

"Fuck, news travels fast in this city." Black Mask stepped out of the shadows. His appearance had been known the entire time but no one like to call him out on it since he liked having the upper hand. Not to mention, half of them were terrified of his methods. "Besides, if Selina Kyle was back in Gotham, I would know about it. That bitch still owes me two of her nine lives for what she did to me."

Hush shook his head, waving his hand at the Black Mask. "Don't go calling her head, she's mine. I took her heart out already once. Apparently that wasn't good enough. I don't like leaving things unfinished."

A fairly new villain to the scene spoke, having been silent since the door to the office closed upon everyone'd arrival. "What makes you think that either of you can get anywhere near her? She knows that both of you are on her tail, so to speak. If anyone is going to take her down it's going to be me."

"And you are?" Oswald had his pen poised to the paper, waiting for her name.

She had short black hair that barely brushed the tops of her ears and bright blue eyes. Her smile could either warm your heart or cut you in half, depending on her mood at the time, but as everyone sized her up they decided that she could hold her own if the time came for it. She moved with a fair bit of grace, though not as much as the woman she clearly had an itching to get her slim fingers on. At one time she could have been very beautiful, save for the large hole in the middle of her head. "I'm Absence."

"Very well." Oswald did his best to look away from the wound that marred her face, for now that he'd seen it, seen her it was very hard to unsee it at all. "If that is everyone, I believe we can begin."

"Begin what?" Ivy sighed, sounding bored. She shook her head at one of the vines on her arm that had started growing and expanding toward Joker, no doubt her inner hatred for the man tempting the vine to wrap around his throat and choke the dirty clown to death. "What exactly is all of this leading up to?"

The Penguin tore the paper into thirteen pieces and dropped them all into his hat, then shook it. "I want you all to work together. We've failed to take down the Batman separately so now we are going to work together. I know many of you aren't fond of each other but that doesn't mean we can't all agree on one thing. Batman needs to be taken down. As the leader of the underworld-" a snort like cough in the direction of Black Mask caused a pause for a moment "I have taken it upon myself to organize this. Split up into five groups. I don't care who works with who but make damn sure that you aren't going to kill each other and get distracted from the main goal."

No one moved, no one even looked at each other. "This is fucking stupid." Dent shook his head and pushed himself to the front of the group. "Who are you to tell us to work together?"

Oswald stuck his hand inside the hat and pulled out two pieces of paper. "If you won't decide amongst yourselves who you want to work with, then I will make the choice for you. This is not optional Dent, not for any of you. Those not willing to cooperate with me, will be taken in by the Batman before sunrise. Don't forget, he and I have an…understanding. I know where all of you live, and if you don't do this for me, for each other, for yourselves…then he will be on your doorstep and you will be on your way to Arkham. Or worse."

"How are we going to find him?" Deever Tweed asked, earning a few sharp looks from most of the other villains.

"Most of you know who the man behind the mask is. Let's not be foolish." Oswald shook his head. "If you can't get to the Batman right away, go for Bruce Wayne."

* * *

"Good evening all." Mad Hatter pulled his tall brimmed hat off, sweeping it in front of him in a lavish bow. "Hope you don't mind if we…crash the party."

Tweedledee and Tweedledum laughed at the irony of his joke, elbowing each other as they looked around the room. It was a shock to see the two of them up and about, willing do to their own legwork for once. "This table is by invitation only." Bruce said, setting his hands on the white linen tablecloth. "We'd like to ask you nicely to leave."

Hatter shook his head and came closer. "Hardly! Let's have a party! I love parties! Drinks all around!" He spun in a large circle looking around at the stunned wait staff cowering in the corners. "No?"

"You're not welcome here." Bruce said again, standing straight. "Go Jervis, this will not end well for you."

"Don't worry about me." The Hatter waved his hand, stepping up on a vacant chair and then onto the table. His long toed purple boots upended plates and knocked over champagne glasses as he went, straight down the long table towards Bruce. "It's you that you should be worrying about." He let the front end of his gun fall into his open hand, turning it this way and that to get a good look at it. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to use this on you?"

"How long?" Bruce asked, feigning boredom, but his eyes were quickly searching for an escape, for a plan.

"Long enough!" Jervis Tetch aimed the weapon, but as he pulled the trigger, Bruce dodged the beam and rounded the table. He watched the beam hit a middle aged man at a table in the corner, his eyes widening as the man stood and began dancing a jig. His legs moved uncontrollably and he looked horrified as his own body did things he couldn't normally.

Hatter laughed manically, turning away to face Bruce once more. "See what I could have done to you? And all with the push of a button. Whatever I want, is my command." He aimed again, the others at the table standing up and moving away. In retaliation, Bruce lifted the table up, sending the Hatter flat on his back, the beam he'd sent shattering off the crystals of the chandelier above him and hitting numerous patrons. The room was full of people walking around 'clucking' like chickens and Bruce glanced over the edge of the table to find the Hatter rolling on the floor in laughter.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum seemed just as equally entertained by the whole charade and were currently bumping into each other's hips, sending the other one bouncing further and further away. Then they were rolling on the floor themselves, but in a more determined way than the Hatter. Bruce watched with disbelief as they rolled their large jelly bodies towards tables, breaking the legs and toppling all of the contents onto the floor. As they went past they hooked their arms through purses and snatched dropped wallets left behind as the patrons attempted to flee from their path. He looked around in search for Jaina, the women he'd brought to this dinner and found her pressed against the wall watching the entire scene.

"Everything is going to be alright." He whispered, taking her hand and trying to pull her away from the wall. "Come with me." She shook her head, her eyes locked on the White Rabbit in the corner who had stayed perfectly silent. Her light purple costume was hardly tasteful, but it was her pure white hair and pale skin that stood out. "What is it?" Bruce asked, finally absorbing the sight of the two women looking at each other. Then he noticed, they had very similar facial features. In fact, identical facial features.

Hatter had gotten back on his feet now, looking around to find someone unaffected by his beam. He spotted Jaina and smirked, walking over to the White Rabbit and slinging his arm around her shoulders. "What do you think of my new Wonderland gang eh? What do you think there Bruce?"

"I think you couldn't have picked a more crackpot team. Who's this?"

"Why this?" Hatter said, squeezing the White Rabbit's shoulder. "This is-"

"That's me." Jaina answered, stepping away from Bruce. "Well it is, and it isn't."

He stepped back as well, looking between the women again, ignoring the crash as one of the Tweed cousins knocked down the ice sculpture in the back of the room. They'd yet to complete their tirade. "What do you mean?"

"This." She smiled, and then she was gone. Just gone. There was no pop in the air to explain her disappearance, just the literal blank space where she'd been standing. He watched as the White Rabbit transformed into Jaina, her hair turning her dark and her disguise filling out to be the red dress she'd worn to dinner. Then all at once the White Rabbit was back and Bruce could feel someone behind him. He turned to find Jaina standing behind him, his wallet in her fingers as she idly flipped through it. "You would think that after discovering charming socialite Selina Kyle was Catwoman that you would do background checks on all your female dinner partners."

The hair at the back of his neck prickled at the mention of Selina but he pushed it back and shook his head. "What is it that you all want?"

"Oh, what we villain's normally want." Jaina ran a long red manicured nail across Bruce's shoulder blades as she circles him as if he were her greatest prey. "Freedom, riches, power."

"And capturing Bruce Wayne is one of the best ways to get all three." White Rabbit brushed Hatter off as if his touch stained her, prancing forward; her hips swaying as she came up to Bruce, caressing his chest as Jaina stayed behind him, her hands in his shoulders, her fingertips brushing the back of his neck. He needed his suit, and he needed it now.

Covertly, he fished into his pocket for his cell, pressing the speed dial number for Alfred and blindly typing a 911 message, all the while keeping both women talking. Jaina tossed his wallet into the corner where Tweedledee and Tweedledum were sitting against the wall counting their loot and giggling every so often like high school girls. For now, Hatter was satisfied to simply sit back and watch. The mind control he'd placed on the other people in the restaurant was beginning to wear off but he seemed more entertained to watch Bruce squirm under the attentions of not one but two female villains. Or did they count as one? "What does capturing me have to do with any of that?" he asked, stepping back only to find Jaina flush against him as well.

White Rabbit leaned close to his ear, her voice low so only he could hear. "Because you're Batman."

He shivered, not willing to waste time asking how she knew. Instead he pushed her away forcefully, sending her back toward Hatter who swiftly caught her before he fell to the ground. Bruce spun around to face Jaina, but just as he reached to grab her she disappeared again. He turned towards the door, hearing the low whir of the helicopter blades in the distance. Alfred had gotten his message, and was moving quickly to get to him. He moved toward the front door, but White Rabbit was already on her way to the kitchen, looking over her shoulder with a smirk. "Come and get me bat." She teased before disappearing through the double swinging doors.

Bruce knew this building had an entrance to the roof through the kitchen thanks in part to the fact he'd helped fund it's restoration six years ago. It had seemed an odd cause for Bruce Wayne to take on, but it had been his parents favorite restaurant before their deaths so it was a personal choice for him. As he chased White Rabbit up to the roof he did his best to push thoughts of his parents and Selina to the back burner for now. He could hear the Hatter climbing up behind him but didn't look back. Jervis 'Mad Hatter' Tetch was an annoyance, a psycho but at least his element of danger was one that Bruce was unfamiliar with. This woman, this White Rabbit was fairly new to the scene and he still didn't know much about her.

As they reached the roof he rushed through the still open door, slapping it to keep it open as it threatened to slam closed on him as she slipped through. He could see her long white hair as she ran around the corner and out of sight, but before he could follow her Jaina appeared out of the shadows, sticking her long leg out and tripping him up over her expensive heels. She was only a charity function organizer, but she also went around with the finest, richest men in Gotham and that meant she had nice shoes; nice pointy ones that were currently digging into Bruce's neck as she held him down with said shoe. "I've got him." She called out, and slowly White Rabbit slinked into sight, a small pout on her lips.

"Why did you do that? I wanted him to chase me!"

"He's chased you enough!" Jaina spat back, her heel cutting into Bruce's neck more as the two women fought over him.

He could hear the helicopter containing his suit almost overhead as an out of breath Hatter fell through the door. His gun fell from his hand, clattering onto the cement floor of the roof and Jaina lunged for it, pointing it at White Rabbit. "What are you going to do?" taunted the purple suited girl, circling her way around Bruce as he slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know." Jaina shrugged, looking down the barrel of the gun. "Do you have any idea what setting this thing on?"

There was a large crash as the thick glass case that held the Batsuit fell from the helicopter and flew off. Bruce moved towards it, not caring that the two women continued to bicker save for a short pause as they took in the sight of Bruce climbing into the case. Hatter however, only had eyes for the suit; or more specifically Batman's cowl. He'd been obsessed with the headgear ever since he first laid eyes on the Dark Knight, knowing that there was nothing like it. He'd spent years trying to duplicate it, but it never looked right, it never felt right. Now here it was, right in front of him and he could just about reach out and grab it. But before he could get all the way to his feet Bruce was inside and changing quickly.

Still, Jervis moved behind the case waiting patiently for Batman to come out. In the meantime, Tweedledee and Tweedledum collapsed through the still open doorway, sweat dripping from their fat faces as they fought to regain their breath. Money threatened to spill from their overstuffed pockets, but they quickly shoved the bills and coins back in, taking in the sight of Jaina arguing with her alterego; literally and the Hatter hiding behind the case that housed the Batsuit. It seemed the rumors really were true. Bruce Wayne was Batman. The Penguin had been right.

"Do you see that?" Deever whispered, elbowing his cousin in the side.

"I do, I do." Dumfree nodded excitedly, and they stepped back into the shadows to watch the scene. They'd gotten what they'd came for and while the two million dollar reward for Batman's head was promising they knew they'd never stand a chance for it. Better yet to let the rest of the villains duke it out and hope they could possibly sneak in at the end and take what was left.

When the Batman stepped from the case, he was quickly taken down by the Hatter. Not much for being surprised, he rolled over, pinning Jervis beneath him, holding him to the cement. "It's not worth it." Bruce gritted out between his teeth as he climbed to his feet to look down at the man who'd taken him to the ground. "Whatever this is about, it's just not worth it."

"On the contrary, two million dollars is quite a lot to be worth something." Hatter pushed himself up, looking around for his gun. "However, I find myself a little more interested in something else at the moment."

"And what's that?" Batman sidestepped toward the gun as Jervis did, careful to keep his eyes on the lunatic.

"Your suit, your cowl. It's one of a kind. It's entirely impossible to duplicate it."

"So you've tried."

The Mad Hatter crouched down, closing his fingers around the handle of his gun, not surprised that the Batman had let him get to it. The man was about honor, justice and he would never take him out simply without a fight. "I want it." he said matter of factly.

"It's not just a mask Hatter. It's a responsibility. It's a job. With it comes the duty to protect this city and the people in it. You don't deserve this suit, or this mask."

That only angered the villain further and with a tight hold on the gun he lunged for Batman. His hand to hand skills were lacking, especially in comparison when he didn't have the element of surprise, so he only managed to get one punch in before Bruce had him pinned against the brick wall, the Kevlar strength of his arm pressed against the Hatter's neck. "Alright, alright." He choked out, his feet dangling in the air as Bruce lifted him further up the wall.

"Drop the gun." Batman ordered, and the weapon fell to the ground in a clatter.

By now the women; woman had finished arguing with herself and her; their attention was fully back on the two men. They had not been at the meeting, but they knew what was at stake if they brought the Batman to the Iceberg Lounge, especially alive. Perhaps the Penguin would even offer them an incentive for bringing him before the deadline. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jaina whispered.

"That we're finally going to agree on something for once?" the White Rabbit nodded back and together the women moved to opposite sides of the men; moving slowly and quietly.

What they didn't notice was the Hatter surrendering, and what they didn't notice was that Batman was going to release him. They weren't his issue, the Penguin and whoever else he was sending next; that was the issue. This little misguided Wonderland gang was the calm before the storm and Bruce realized it. Yet, as Jaina jumped on his back, wrapping her legs around him and the White Rabbit dove for the gun, they still captured the Bat with his guard down. He reacted quickly however, turning to try and shake Jaina off as her counterpart aimed the gun and fired. As he moved, the beam bounced off the glass case and shot back to its departure point, slamming her right in the chest. She was thrown back by the force, the pulse affecting her body with an electic shock that sent Jaina back inside her. The two women became one again and Bruce was left with a catatonic woman, two gleefully frightened oafs in the corner and a highly confused villain at his feet.

"What setting did you have that on?" Batman asked, picking up the gun and looking at the dial. There were different images for the settings and none that made sense to him.

"It was just a stunning beam, but it must have affected her metahuman levels and completely knocked her out."

Bruce nodded and stepped back from the villains, knowing that at least Jaina wasn't a threat for now. "Am I going to have to handcuff you Jervis?" he asked and the Hatter shook his head.

"No." When Bruce was satisfied that they weren't going anywhere he called in Gordon and forced the Tweed cousins to empty out their pockets. With his attention on them, Hatter took the opportunity to slink away and toward the edge of the roof. He took one last look at the cowl and felt his heart fall. He may very well never get to feel it on his head after all. With a heavy sigh he looked down the three stories to the ground and remembered Ragdoll and his near death experience. If he could survive that fall then surely he could survive this as well. "Farewell Dark Knight." He called out and Batman turned just in time to see the Hatter fall back into air.

He moved quickly toward the edge, reaching out and looking down, knowing that it was already too late. The Hatter landed on a awning and bounced down to the ground safely, looking up with a large smile on his face. Then he tipped his hat, bowed with flourish and was gone into the night. Bruce knew that he could chase him and probably catch him but he also had three more troubles to deal with. So much for the nice dinner with real people that he'd been intending tonight to be.

* * *

Iceberge Lounge: Tonight

Oswald sat at his desk a grim look on his face as the Mad Hatter made his exit. He'd told everyone that he expected full reports and while his hopes for the new Wonderland gang hadn't been high he hadn't thought that the first round would be this much of a disaster. It was hardly organized at all and had completely relied on the element of surprise. Well that, would not work next time. Both Bruce Wayne and Batman would be on the lookout at all times. It wasn't that he wanted this to be easy for all of them, even for himself. After all, what kind of game would it be if they simply brought the Bat in on the first night. When he was sure that they were alone, he called out to the shadows of his dark office. "Come here."

The Riddler stepped forward, his light green pea coat decorated with glittery question marks. His staff made a slight scraping sound on the wood floor as she took the seat he'd been sprawled out in before the Hatter had begun banging on the door a few minutes ago. "Come now Oswald, you didn't really expect the first time to be that fulfilling did you?"

"I don't know what I expected."

"We both knew that this wasn't going to be easy. You said so yourself, we don't want him brought here right away. If so, we would have sent the fifth team out for the first round."

"I know, I know. Do you have your riddle prepared for tomorrow night?"

Ed patted the pocket of his jacket and nodded. "I sure do. What's all of this without a little fun?"


	7. Chapter 7

_a/n: Happy Halloween All! I get to wear my Catwoman costume tonight! Wish me luck that I can tap into my inner Selena ;)_

_Let's map out the week in Gotham so far just in case anyone is lost. Saturday night was when Selina found Bruce on the side of the road. Then they had their morning fun and she left him on Sunday. The Penguin and the Riddler had their first meeting, and he wrote the first riddle, sending it to Jim Gordon. Sunday night, Bruce was back in Gotham thanks to the reliable GCPD and Selina was on her way to Paris. Early Monday morning the Penguin put out a call to all of the villains to meet that night and the teams to take down Batman were formed. Bruce received the second riddle a few hours later. The events of chapter five and six (with the exception of Selina's bathtub scene-that's Thursday night and still coming) take place Monday night. Here we start; Tuesday morning._

Alfred's hands shook slightly as he carried the breakfast tray up to Bruce's room. There hadn't been any injuries to attend to last night, save for a few sore muscles but he hadn't gotten any sleep. The first riddle they had received was chilling, and while Bruce seemed to be calm about it all, Alfred was less than calm. He was a mess internally, not that he could discuss it with anyone. If Bruce knew that he was upset it would affect how he handled the next few days, and he couldn't afford any distractions. Clearing his throat, Alfred walked into the Wayne Master Bedroom and set the breakfast tray on the nightstand. The pen was still in Bruce's hand as he'd tried to figure out the riddle that had been left for him at the restaurant last night. Between that and the fun the papers were going to have with Gotham's underworld, he wondered just how much sleep Mr. Wayne would be getting.

Before he could sneak out however, Bruce woke and rolled over; bending the notepad beneath him. "Good morning Alfred."

"Good morning Master Bruce. Sleep well?"

"As well I can." He yawned and stretched, reminding Alfred very much of the young boy he'd once known. "There hasn't been a new riddle yet has there?"

"No Sir, just the morning paper." He handed the news over, along with a cup of coffee and reached for the latest riddle. It was on a large sheet of white paper, the words written in green in of a legible size, all in the shape of a large question mark. That sign alone was one that Alfred was beginning to hate.

"Seems that I've made headlines once again." Bruce said, almost bored as he showed Alfred the front page.

**BATMAN IS BACK- AND WITH A VENGANCE**

MAD HATTER MISSING, TWEED COUSINS & JAINA HUDSON IN CUSTODY

Alfred glanced at it, made a interested sound before turning back to the riddle. He'd already read the article while making breakfast and had no interest in revisiting the media's views of what happened last night when he'd been there to watch it all from the helicopter. Instead, he turned the riddle around and around in his hand as he read the words, a frown appearing on his face. It wasn't like they were trying to make this difficult on him, just more so that they were toying with him and that is what pissed Alfred off the most. While Bruce was never his actual son by blood or by birth, he had raised to boy for most of his life and watched him learn and grow into this man that was now the Batman. It pained him to watch all of these people with their misguided anger take it out on the only man he knew that wanted only good and purity in the world. Even he, sometimes wanted to tell Bruce to simply kill them all; to forget about right and wrong and justice and deliverance. What did it mean if all this evil just kept picking themselves back up and coming after him again and again.

It was never going to stop.

_A flip of the coin and the luck of chance are all that stand between you and the fear and the trance._

_For when face with the darkest of your dreams, you'll find this could be the toughest of teams._

_Pray that luck will be on your side, because when the gas clears you won't have even your pride._

"This one is fairly simple Master Bruce."

"I know Alfred, but it's the underlying tone that worries me."

"And by worries you mean frightens, sir?"

"The word fear is useless to me. Of course I have fears, but it only when you let them control you is when you are weak. I won't let them get that close to me."

"You may not have a choice." Alfred put the riddle down, not wanting anything to do with it. "It seems that all of them are serious about this. More serious than you've seen them. They want you dead, and they won't stop until they get it."

"Last night was a joke. If the next fight is anything like that I will be fine."

"But it won't be like that, and you can tell from the riddle it won't be. Your fate is being set on a flip of a coin. That could only mean Two Face. He won't care that you're Bruce Wayne under that mask because he doesn't even care that he is Harvey Dent beneath those scars."

"What are you saying Alfred? You want me to just give up? I tried running away, I tried to escape and I only ended getting dragged back here on police escort. Batman can't leave Gotham and neither can Bruce Wayne."

"You would have gotten away if it hadn't been for that woman."

"Selina Kyle could be useful to us. Catwoman could be useful to us."

"Except that you can't even find her sir. Unless she comes back to Gotham willingly, you will never see her again."

Bruce ignored the jab Alfred's words made at his heart and got up from the bed. "She will come back. I saw it in her eyes, she has just as much unfinished business in this city as I do."

"Catwoman does not live by a code of ethics. She does good things only if and when it suits her. She puts herself first and foremost, and for once I wish you would do that."

"I can't do that. I won't do that. Not until this is stopped, and not until I find out who is behind it. Tonight, I will face my fears and the chance that I may not come out of this alive. I will play this game that the underworld has made for me, because that is what it is. A game. They don't want it to be over yet, and unless someone goes off the plan, I won't be killed. Anyone going to this much trouble wants me all to themselves at the end of this."

"So you're going to risk your life and hope that you won't be killed? You're betting that these freaks will be willing to keep you alive for the endgame rather than take you out for their own pleasure? Half of the villains out there are from your personal past and it's Bruce's head they want on a platter not Batman's."

"I will handle it Alfred. I'm prepared."

"You can't do this alone Master Bruce." Alfred lost the angry edge to his tone and his shoulders slumped. And I can't help you anymore than I did last night." He took the newspaper from the bed and shook it at Bruce's back. "This headline could have been a lot different if they'd send someone else for the first round."

"I won't call Dick if that's what you're saying. I sent him to that school so that he would be away from all of this. He's too young to learn the things I need to train him for. In a few years when he gets more used to life then he can complete his training. For now, he needs to live a little more of life."

"Then find Selina. Bring her back." Bruce stayed silent and Alfred sighed. "Eat your breakfast sir. I'll call Mr. Fox and have him prepare the car for tonight."

But Alfred did not go to the kitchen to make the call he said he would. Instead he went to the Batcave and straight to the computers that Bruce used to track his enemies. He hadn't used the computers much before, but he had watched Bruce search a million times and he'd always watched closely. In a matter of hours he'd found three possibly hotels in Europe that Selina Kyle could have been staying in and he sent three copies of today's newspaper to them just in case. Just as he was about to give up, he had a stroke of luck. Bruce had a list of her aliases in the database and he searched through the hotel reservations for any names that were similar. He found one in Paris under the name Serena Kent that was paid in cash beginning Monday morning.

This had to be her. One of them, had to be her.

* * *

Batman looked up at the dark sky, confusion and anger etched into his eyes. Gordon had called him twenty minutes ago, asking why he had not responded to the BatSignal. The sky had been dark then to and they'd discovered that it had once again been stolen. Batman knew that this was just the next round in whatever sick game the underworld was playing with him. Instead of going off throughout Gotham and searching blind he stood on the rooftop, stubbornly watching the sky and waiting for the familiar signal to appear in the starless black above. Fifteen minutes after Jim had gone back down stairs, there was a yellow light far away. It was obstructed by the tall buildings of the skyline, but he knew. Just knew where it was.

Experience had taught him that using the rooftops was faster than getting across Gotham on foot on in a cab- which was never a quick ride while in the suit- he took off across town toward the light; toward Old Gotham. When he reached the crumbling section of the city he loved too much he had a much better view of the BatSignal, and who had taken it. Together, with a bunch of goons Harvey 'Two Face' Dent and the Scarecrow were setting it up on the roof, but Batman could hear them arguing from below. "We should wait until we've heard from the old bird if he's sighted the Bat out and about."

The Scarecrow's voice trembled with fear and excitement. He'd long since grown an aversion to being scared, but found that the only thing that could terrify him was in fact Batman. He took great, sick pleasure in that fact. Two Face seemed to have little patience with the 'good' doctor and sighed heavily. "No, we are not waiting for anything. I flipped the coin and the choice was made. We are going through with this plan no matter what Oswald says. If he wanted this done his way then he should be getting off his fat ass and going after the Batman. It's my turn, I mean…our turn and I'm doing it my way."

Jonathan Crane nodded vigorously and stepped back from the BatSignal as it finally roared to it's full brightness. The yellow glow was no longer dim, but suddenly piercing through the night. "He will come now…won't he?"

"He will." Harvey nodded and stepped back to survey the grounds around him. He caught sight of the Dark Knight on the ground beneath him, a small smiling curing over his burnt and scarred flesh. "Come on up here Bats. Let's finish this, once and for all."

Bruce shot out the grappling hook and climbed his way up to the roof of the building, his boots hitting hard against the cement as he landed a few feet from the pair. The Devils Dynamic Duo, he thought; a sick twisted turn on what he and Robin were once called. A glance at the Scarecrow had him thinking of the last time he'd succumbed to the madman's fear gas and he repelled the shiver from the memory. At that time his fear had been Dick's death but when that came true he had nothing left to fear. Not even death. So there was nothing the fear gas could do to him now. He stepped forward, so sure of himself, so sure that he could handle these two as easily as he'd handled last night.

But the lack of sleep since he'd returned to Gotham was slowly beginning to take a toll on him and he failed to notice the two goons approaching him from behind, his eyes instead on the coin constantly flipping and bouncing in the air from Harvey's hand. Before he could react, he was pulled down and tied to the chair. He could have gotten away within a minute of work but he waited, wanting to know what they had to say. Wanting to know what they wanted. It was clear his head was on the line, that his death was even more valuable to the dark beings of Gotham than it had been last week and he hoped that if he sat here just long enough and played around that he would learn a little more information than he had last night. Already his eavesdropping had told him that the Penguin was behind this. Apparently a stop at the Iceberg Lounge was warranted, if not obviously dangerous.

"So what was your plan Harv?" Batman asked, his tone deep and dark. "Blind me with the light from my own BatSignal? Hardly your style."

"No of course not. With the help of my new friend here, I was planning on driving you absolutely mad. And then carting you off and collecting what is mine."

"And just what is it that's yours?"

Dent opened his mouth to speak, then paused and shook his head slowly. "I'm not going to tell you anything Batman, not unless you've earned it." He caught the coin in midair and slapped it against his palm. The scarred side shone up at him in the light of the BatSignal and he smirked. "Nope, not your lucky day after all. The coin has decided you don't deserve to know how much you're worth."

"But I am worth something? To you? To the Penguin?"

"Enough!" Harvey slammed his fist down on the glass of the BatSignal so that the large metal bat rattled against its holdings. "I've had enough of your talking. Doctor, go ahead."

Jonathan Crane seemed pleased with the old title that Dent used for him and almost too eagerly lifted a large metal box from behind the signal and placed it close to Bruce's feet. It was a new contraption that he had not seen before, but he could tell from the vent and the dial that it was simply a new emitter for the fear gas. He took a deep breath of fresh night air in preparation for holding his breath. He knew it wouldn't last long, but perhaps they were only planning on shooting out a little of the gas at a time. Perhaps they only wanted to torture him to begin with. Over the next hour, they managed to prove to him that he was all wrong about having no fears. And even more wrong about the slight torture. What they put him through was near maddening, and altogether excruciating.

Dent would flip the coin to decide if Crane would push the button or not, then how much gas to emit. After the first twenty minutes, Batman lost track of how many times the coin was tossed. The smoke got so thick that he couldn't see them anymore, he only saw images of death and destruction. He watched behind his minds eyes, like a sick twisted movie as he watched Alfred murdered by the Joker, Catwoman thrown from the roof a building by Ivy and relived the death of Robin again with various darker twists. The one fear dream that had his skin crawling was one where he in fact was the murder of all the people he loved. He couldn't stop himself, and he couldn't protect them. Then all at once, the smoke cleared and Harvey Dent was looking at his coin with despair.

The chance had brought up the option of no smoke enough times for Batman to get a handle back on his reality, almost too late. He could feel tears streaming down his stinging eyes and coughed out the air he'd been holding into his lungs. He looked up at the two villains that still had him tied and began working the Batarang out of his sleeve. They'd only tied him with a thick rope and a few minutes would have him out of the chair and free, but the smoke still hovered in his mind; clouding his judgment, the images still churning his stomach and making him feel sick. Bruce let his head drop down against his chest, giving the appearance that he was defeated and tired, which wasn't too difficult to play up. Two Face and Scarecrow stepped back to discuss what they should do next now that they had the Batman and the BatSignal. He listened as the sharp edge of the Batarang sawed through the rope.

"We should take him to the Penguin now." Scarecrow hissed through his mask, having put it on halfway through the assault. "He will be so pleased that we were able to bring the Bat down."

"You know nothing about that man do you? In that suit he is nearly invincible. Do you really think that he will let us take him anywhere?"

"He couldn't even stand right now if he wanted to. Look at him. He's half dead already."

Harvey snorted. "This is what half dead looks like Scarecrow. Not that." Then Bruce heard footsteps and he felt a strong fist slam into the left side of his jaw. The jolt from the hit had the Batarang slipping off the rope and cutting into the skin of his hand. He bit down on his cheek to keep from cursing and stayed leaning to the side before another punch from Harvey to the right had him sitting back up. "You're not dead yet are you Bruce?"

Scarecrow snickered somewhere a few feet away, but Batman kept his eyes closed, imagining the blade and the rope, already feeling the give in his ties. "Just finish him Harv'. Quit playing around."

Dent sighed and stepped back, flipping the coin once more. "Do I finish the Batman and take him to the Penguin dead?" Bruce heard the slap of skin and knew from the sigh he heard out of his old friend that he'd been spared once more. "Do I let him go back into the shadows and return to the Penguin empty handed?" Once more the coin was tossed, but Bruce did not give Two Face a chance to look at the outcome. He was already out of the chair and tackling him to the ground, the coin out of both their reach for now. He knew that Harvey was a good match for him at this kind of fighting, as he himself had trained the ex DA to fight. "You don't have to do this Dent. We can fix your face again, we can make everything right. You've reformed before." Batman's voice was deep as always, but it was laced with the smoke, his lungs burning as he fought through the gas.

Harvey laughed, gaining the upper hand and taking advantage of Batman's current weak state by rolling him onto his back and slamming him against the rooftop. "It always comes back. I can't escape this fate. The coin told me so."

"You don't need to run your life by it anymore! You've seen that with the work they did at Arkham."

"I'm not going back to that place!" It was more of a promise then a threat as Dent threw himself toward the coin.

Bruce reached out of him, trying to pull him away. The smoke had just begun to fade away from his brain as a fresh puff enveloped him and Harvey. The Scarecrow had decided to take matters into his own hands. A look of intense fright came over Harvey's eyes as his fingers closed around the coin and Batman collapsed on the ground, coughing the smoke out of his lungs, only to drag more back in. When it finally faded away and the effects wore off, Harvey and Batman opened their eyes to a roof with no Scarecrow and only one goon that was currently climbing back down the access to get away. Bruce sat up, the Kevlar of his suit dusty from the ground and the rubble. "Come with me Harvey. We can do this together."

"No."

"Ask the coin if you should go back."

Harvey looked down at the coin and seemed very afraid of what could come from the chance. "If it says I must go, than I have no will but to obey it."

"This life was your choice to live this way. If you aren't going to trust in your own self, then give me the coin and I'll flip it for you."

"No." Dent shook his head, clutching it close to his chest before standing with Batman. The men stood together, looking at the coin. He took a deep breath and coughed, flipping the coin.

* * *

Bruce Wayne looked out over the rooftops, perched on the gargoyle. If he hadn't been so tired, so lost he might have smiled. The BatSignal had been returned and he himself had closed Harvey Dent back into his cell at Arkham. Johnathan Crane had gotten away, and while the idea of that lunatic running around with his gas made the hair on the back of Bruce's neck stand up; he let it go for now. There was more coming, and from the feeling he got, the ex doctor was not going to be a problem, at least for a while. The mark on his head must be very high if all these criminals and sociopaths were working together to take him down.

Even knowing it was foolish he looked east to the rooftops over Crime Alley. She wasn't there, and she probably would never be there again. He could have closed his eyes and imagined her long legs stretching and moving as she raced across the rooftops and whipped herself around the city. Would he ever see her again? Either Catwoman or Selina Kyle before him would be a sight for sore eyes. He'd even let her get a few punches in first if that meant he could feel her body in his arms. He closed his lids and took a deep breath wishing he knew where she was, knowing he could find her if he really tried- but knowing that if she was going to come back to Gotham it had to be her own choice. He leapt down from the ledge and moved towards the Batmobile, images and memories coming unbidden into his mind. He remembered the first time he'd seen her.

She'd been having a good streak for about a week, her name in the papers after she stole a golden cat sculpture from the ancient Egypt exhibit, before Bruce got the chance to catch her in the act. She was almost done cracking the code on a locked glass case that held her next big hit when he finally stepped out of the shadows. It wasn't like she was getting sloppy; just that she was getting comfortable, so when he cleared his throat and stepped into the moonlight she had nearly screamed.

"So you aren't a myth after all?" she'd attempted to sound bored but fear edged in her voice. "You're a little late aren't you? I'm nearly done here."

She went back to her work as if he was just a bothersome child and from mere amusement he just watched her. She had to have deactivated the alarms on the case already because within minutes she'd slid her arm through the small opening in the glass and closed her hand around the diamond. Had it been a diamond? He couldn't picture it, all he could remember was the way the skin tight leather stretched across her breasts as she closed the case and dropped her prize into a leather bag at her feet. She didn't seem that in awe of the fact Batman was just standing there watching her, instead she just grabbed her bag and started towards the window she'd come in from.

"You know I can't let you take that Catwoman."

She froze, her leg up on the sill and slowly looked back at him over her shoulder. "So standing there watching me wasn't for your own amusement?"

Batman hesitated, refusing the smile that wanted to crack the stern line of his lips. "Let's just say I was making sure I had the right girl."

She half snorted, half laughed and climbed up the rest of the way, slinging the black bag over her shoulder. "Girl huh? Well, I'm going to assume that as the knight of good and justice you were raised not to hits girls. So you won't mind if I go."

She'd jumped from the window and landed on the lower roof before even giving him the chance to speak. By the time he'd gotten his feet to move she'd already wrapped her whip around the far gutter of the next building and was swinging far out of his reach. He could have caught her, could have hid in the shadows and followed her all the way to her apartment; taken back tonight's treasure and all the other ones she'd gained this week, but he let her go. And he'd wished he'd known why. Whether as Catwoman, or Selina Kyle he was always watching her go, and even now as he drove back to the cave, imagining her smile, her laugh and the way her skin had glistened beneath his that night at the motel he knew that he would never catch her. Not unless she let him, not unless she wanted to be caught by him.


	8. Chapter 8

_a/n: this is the last chapter that Selina and Bruce will be separated. Just hold on a little bit longer._

_In a frozen city of hopes and dreams, here comes Penguin and Mr. Freeze  
__To bad your parents never saw you grow old; for their love could help you through this cold_

The first riddle had already told Bruce who would be coming along third and the newest riddle he'd just received had only solidified his theory. He was done sitting around and waiting for these madmen to make the moves, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and go the Iceberg Lounge himself. He wouldn't admit to anyone except himself that he was nervous stepping foot in the place owned by the man that had put the hit out for him, but he walked right into the lounge as he had so many times before, finding Oswald at his booth, surveying the gambling, dealings and basic criminalist activists that went on in this joint.

Bruce was sure that a hooker and her new prey had just slipped into a bathroom together, as a tall lanky man with his eyes glued to the slot machine in front of him won the jack pot. He hardly glanced up to see his prize, just kept inserting coins and giving back to the club what he'd just won. The entire building was full of gluttons for their own punishment but Bruce did his best to keep his eyes on his target, hoping that showing up as Bruce Wayne would keep Oswald on ceremony and at the very least buy him time to find out what exactly what was going on straight from the 'old birds' mouth.

* * *

Selina walked slowly through the exhibits, her eyes doing their best to focus on the art, and only the art. Every now and then however, they would dart up to the cameras following her movements, looking for blind spots and weak areas she could climb into. The defense and security of the Louvre was intense, and was not something she wanted to deal with, but she would have been lying if she hadn't at least admitted the adrenaline from being bad didn't make her toes curl. She was only half listening to the tour guide as they rounded the corner, her ears picking up on a distant conversation two guards were having. Normally in this situation, Selina would be waiting for anything and everything that could give her a clue that would get her closer to her target. Not that she'd actually found anything she would risk her new identity and free life to steal. Until they entered the next room and her eyes immediately zoned in on a set of two ruby bracelets.

Now, she was fully listening to the tour guide. "The bracelets were set with 24 rubies, 451 diamonds, and 60 Dutch rose-cut diamonds. Placed at the Empress's disposal, this parure was immediately recorded in the inventory of Crown diamonds. Marie-Louise had little time to enjoy this sumptuous parure, as the Empire fell in 1814. When Louie XVIII took the throne he had these imperial jewels unmounted to adapt them to current fashion. They were reset in 1816 for the Duchess of Angoulême. The new parure comprised a diadem, a necklace, a comb, a pair of earrings, a girdle, three clasps, and the pair of bracelets you see here; now housed in the Louvre."

Selina had been in love before, and she was pretty sure that she was in fact in love now with a certain black masked man- but never had she ever fallen in love so quickly, so deeply with a possible target before in her life. The rubies glinted up at her, making her think of the red satin dress she had yet to wear out. They would compliment perfectly, and she inched closer to the glass; her eyes no less than seducing them as if they would float up through the case and fasten themselves around her wrists. She was lost in thought until a guard lightly tapped her on the shoulder. "Yes?" she looked up at him, blushing and breathless.

He smiled warmly and pointed in the direction of her group that had walked off. "Don't get lost miss."

"Thank you." She nodded and smiled sweetly at him before walking quickly after her group as they left the room. She glanced over her shoulder, catching the glint of a ruby in the light. She smirked, winking right back at them before they were out of sight.

Two hours later, the tour had ended and she was sitting out in the garden sipping coffee and admiring the landscaping. The bracelets had not left her mind, torturing her as lover would. She could imagine how they would feel on her skin, how they would look and compliment her. She looked over her cup to the guards walking in pairs every which way and sized them up without meaning to. She took note of the windows, knowing what kind of locks they would have just from their shape and size. The ones that didn't have locks could be broken but that always made such a mess, and nine times out of ten set off alarms. She cursed herself and shook her head, pressing away from the bench and wrapping her hands more tightly around the paper cup. She blew the steam from the lid and walked away.

The streets of Paris were fairly busy for a late afternoon like this and she hugged her arms, wishing she hadn't forgotten her scarf in the hotel room. She loved her suite, loved the room service and the cute French boy that brought her room service, but if she wanted to stay here she couldn't keep paying the large bill that came with the lifestyle she'd adapted as of late. The money from the bag was not close to running out, but she knew it would eventually and if today had taught her anything it was that she was more likely to risk losing her freedom for personal gain than simply get a job and work like normal people. It wasn't that she had anything against work, just that she believed she shouldn't have to do it if the option to not provided itself. On her way home she stopped outside a store she normally passed right by.

The sign above the door read 'Femme Passionné' and unlike most street Paris shops there was no window display. She stepped up to the hot pink door and closed her black leather gloved hand around the brass handle. She'd had her eyes on this shop every day since she'd arrived, and now her curiosity snapped. She wanted to know what was inside. Though she had a feeling she already knew.

* * *

Bruce looked up from the mess that had now become the Iceberge Lounge. The club wasn't completely destroyed and with a few good men and a few good weeks of work it could be back up to par. The Penguin sat in the middle of it like a spoiled child refusing to leave even as the cops descended down and began cuffing him. Mr Freeze had long since fled the scene, the only evidence he'd even been there at all was his weapon still sitting on the bar. The fight had been non intentional but it had started all the same, and it now definitely had ended. As Oswald was dragged away he shouted back at Bruce that this wasn't over. There were still more coming, and they would keep coming until he got what he deserved. If only they all knew that all he wanted was to disappear and leave Gotham then maybe they wouldn't have to try and fight so hard to take him down.

But Gotham was his home, and he knew that all to well. He would never really be able to escape this town even if he did manage to get out of the city limits again and keep on going. How had Selina managed it? He'd spoken to Catwoman about her ties to Gotham on occasion and he got the impression that this city was as much a part of her as it was of him. In a world where they were so opposite it was the one main thing that held them together. Aside from the thick sexual tension and the undeniable way she made him feel. He watched as the tall lanky man, now frozen from a ice ray he'd been struck with during the fight was being rolled out on a cart. He was locked in the familiar position, his arm raised to pull the bar again and take another chance. The hooker and her 'customer' had crept out the back the moment they'd heard the first table smash, and even Bruce had been surprised that Oswald had lost his cool enough to kick the Mr. Wayne back into a table.

He'd gone to reach for his umbrella, which knowing the Penguin could have been anything from a hidden knife or dagger to a smoke bomb or knockout gas. Bruce had, had enough of both smoke and gas from last night so he'd quickly fought his way out of the corner feeling very secure that he would be able to take the old man. Something was different about this Penguin though. He didn't want to give up, and there was no sign of surrender in his eyes. He'd jumped over the bar; a suprising feat for someone of that size, brandishing a new umbrella. This one, Bruce recognized and his heart had jumped up into his throat. Arrows with poison tips could shoot out of it so he ducked and ran, knowing that he could outlast the weapon as long as Oswald didn't have any extra ammo. When it appeared that he didn't, Bruce stepped out into the open ready to attempt to negotiate with him one more time.

Then he'd been blasted with the freeze gun; his entire arm cased in ice as he took in the sight of Mr. Freeze and his weapon. The poor man was simply misunderstood and only became a monster due to a terrible lab accident which made him a little mad. Of course, finding out that the woman he'd loved for years and done all this for wasn't his wife probably hadn't helped matters. He fought, as Bruce Wayne and managed to get the gun away from the ex doctor. But the Penguin was not finished with his weapons and Bruce wondered just how many Oswald had hidden behind the bar. An umbrella infused with a miniature grenade launcher is what ended it, ironically enough destroying the interior of the club and giving Bruce enough time to get outside and make a call to Jim.

When he was back inside, the Penguin remained frozen in despair at what he had done to his beloved club. This was getting out of control, not that his game had been completely controlled, but even Bruce could see in his eyes that he had lost whatever spark had compelled him to do this to begin with. His home, his business had been destroyed, basically at his own hand and from the sheer madness of it all. Though as Bruce climbed into his car and drove after Gordon's patrol car, the sinking feeling in his chest had not subsided. Sure, Oswald would be taken into custody and charged with numerous things but that was not going to stop whoever was coming next. It wasn't just the Penguin's bidding they were doing. The dark men and women of Gotham were out to exercise their own personal vendetta's as well. The two million dollar hit on him that he'd learned of from the Penguin- who'd only been more than happy to brag about eventually- was only a bonus for these people. Reward or not, they all wanted Batman's head on a stake.

And they would take Bruce Wayne's if it meant the same thing.

* * *

Selina walked through the aisles of the store with wide unrelenting eyes. A young French lady with bright pink hair; the same color as the door kept her eyes on the client and the tattered romance novel under the counter. What must it be like to work in a sex shop like this, surrounded by all the paraphernalia? Did it make you anxious to get home at night and climb into bed with someone, or did it have the opposite effect? Selina wasn't sure, but when she spotted the dark purple bodysuit she no longer cared to think. Tentatively her fingertips reached out to run across the leather and she smiled, remember how good it felt to move and stretch in something like this. There was just enough restraint to keep her check, but enough give to let her fly. Well, fly with the help of her whip of course.

She wondered wistfully if all her belongings were still in her apartment in Gotham or if her rooms had been broken into by now and everything was gone. She'd left her catsuit and weapons there on good faith for herself, hoping that if she didn't have anything to work with; she wouldn't 'work'. But those bracelets were still calling to her, and so was this suit. Selina glanced up at the counter, wondering if the saleswoman was still watching her, only to find the hot pink hair standing right behind her. "Would you like to try that on miss?" she asked in a sweet French accent.

"Uh…" Selina looked back at the suit, biting her lip. Trying it on wouldn't kill her. She was just homesick that's all. Like an addict and she had to wain off her drug of Batman and Gotham slowly. Going cold turkey clearly hadn't been the best plan if she was considering breaking into one of the greatest museums in the world with no equipment and no connections to get any equipment. "Yes please."

"Look around for anything else you might like and I'll set up a room for you." The girl wandered off behind a black satin curtain, leaving Selina alone in the shop.

She walked around, looking at everything, only a few things enticing her to pick them up and touch. She'd never been a girl that was able to keep her hands to herself and ten minutes later she had a basket full of things she wanted to buy. The girl had come back out and was watching her like a hawk either enticed or untrustworthy. Sure, Selina had slipped a set of black furry handcuffs into her jacket pocket when no one had been looking, but that didn't make her evil. It certainly was the lesser of two evils than going back to the Louver and taking the bracelets. "I'm ready." She finally said, setting the basket on the till, hoping to show good faith.

"Follow me." Selina followed the girl back to the dressing room where another black satin curtain led her to a change room where her catsuit and the few corsets she'd chosen hung. "If you need anything just ring the bell."

The girl pointed to a small button on the wall and then left Selina in peace. Carefully she peeled off her expensive Parisian clothes, making sure to fold the dry clean only pants and set them on the stool instead of the floor. The carpet was big and plushy like in her hotel room, but she didn't know what kind of things went on here and she didn't want anything all over her new pants. The white linen blouse she was wearing was quickly folded on top of it and she unhooked her bra, sliding the zipper of the catsuit down and pulling it from the hanger. She stepped into the leg, careful to pull it tight up her calf and over her thigh. She did the same with the other leg, tugging the material up past her hips. Already it felt good, already it felt right. It wasn't the suit she was used to at home and it still had the 'new car' smell essence to it but she could break it in fairly quickly.

She slipped her arms in next, rolling her shoulders back so the suit would come up and cover her breasts. Stepping back into her shoes and wishing she'd brought the black leather boots into the room she tugged the zipper up slowly, deciding where she would let it stay. All the way up to her neck made her feel like she was being hung. Just to the rise of her breasts was teasing, but not enough to stop Batman from cuffing her and taking her away. She needed a little more, just a few inches so he would be able to see the lines of both her breasts pressing out against the fabric. With a grimace, Selina snapped her head up; glaring at herself in the mirror. Was she really thinking about him again!

Her first instinct was to get out of the suit and run back to her hotel room but she stopped and she continued to glare at herself until a smile crept over her lips. This was who she was. This was who she was meant to be. Quickly, she peeled herself out of the suit and redressed, grabbing the corsets without even trying them on. She rushed out to the front of the shop and threw everything on the counter in an excited flourish. "All, I'll take it all."

* * *

Bruce Wayne looked up from his desk as Lucious Fox stepped in. "Hey Bruce. I was just on my way up here to see you when the mail lady handed me this. She's running late so I told her I'd bring it to you." Bruce took the envelope, any piece of mail that came to him now was regarded with worry and trepidation. "You okay? You look like you're about to open your own death certificate."

"Something like that Mr. Fox." Bruce nodded and ripped open the envelope. The card was simple this time, but it gave Bruce no relent from the fear. The few riddles had felt almost teasing, almost childish but this one was nothing like that. There were no question marks, no flourish R near the bottom. Just plain dark green ink on white paper.

_You ask why I warn you and not let you die, but this is much bigger than you or I.  
__No heavenly fathers ghosts will save you now, those who come next are those you've let down._

"What is it Mr. Wayne?" Fox asked as Bruce stood from his chair, grabbing his coat as he went.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off."

"You haven't been in the office all week. I doubt anyone even noticed you got here this morning." The older man smiled as Bruce dashed out of the office. At least he knew about the Batman and could understand.

When Bruce got home he went straight to the BatCave, Alfred finding him there an hour later. "What are you doing Master Bruce?"

"I have to find her Alfred. I have to find her now. There is something coming, and I have a feeling it's coming for her too."

"She is in Paris." Alfred said, and then walked away.

* * *

Selina practically ran all the way down the hallway to her suite, throwing the bags on the bed and flicking on the tv as she rushed to pack. She had to get back to Gotham. To her home. To Batman. She kept one eye on the screen as it showed international news. The reporter was young and blonde with her hair pulled up in a tight bun. Running bars of text and numbers revolved below and above her head as she read off headlines and discussed things with her off screen partner. It wasn't until Selina heard the word Gotham in a French accent that she paused from folding her dress into the new Louis Vuiton suitcase that she paused, quickly translating everything she heard into English.

"…Gotham City experienced more pain today in America as one man died during a kitchen explosion at a famed club. There is no word yet as to what caused the accident but officials are saying that the dead body may be that of a French ambassador. The owner of the club; a Mr. Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot was unavailable for questioning. There have been reports from witnesses that playboy Bruce Wayne was seen at the crime, but he left seemingly uninjured and with police escort. Batman has not been heard from either."

Selina's heart sank and she sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. The newspapers she'd been receiving the last few days had told her little information and she'd tried not to worry about it. Of course her nightmares had kept the Bat fresh in her mind and images of a burning Gotham had plagued her thoughts unrelentingly. It was a sign, having this on the news. If the Iceberge Lounge had been blown up that meant that the Penguin was in custody. She found it curious that Bruce Wayne had been there, but she couldn't think about him now. The pull she felt for him was undeniable but she had to focus on getting home and finding her Batman.

_a/n: in case anyone was wondering the piece that Selina was admiring in the museum is an actual piece currently on display at the Louver. Just a fun little 'real time' peek into where she is. Or where she was, since she is now on her way back to Gotham. Are we excited for the BatCat reunion?_


	9. Chapter 9

_a/n: I did say that we were going to get our reunion this chapter… (but I didn't say it was all happy)_

The air hummed with uncertainty as Selina stepped out of the creaky old elevator to the floor of her apartment. The door was closed, but that didn't mean anything. She'd feared that it had been broken into, and when she tried the handle her fears were confirmed. Slowly, rolling her suitcase after her and setting her duffle on the ground next to the door she looked around. The main room was dark, and she flicked the light switch out of habit, even knowing that there would be no power. The window let in a little moonlight and her eyes took in the sight of upturned furniture, a broken Tiffany lamp she'd 'collected' earlier in the year, torn books and the clothes she'd left in the closet were all off the hangers and laying on the floor. The mattress of her old bed was ripped open, the springs and stuffing showing like a poor gutted animal. She swallowed her tears and closed the door behind her, leaning against it for strength.

She'd expected the worst, and was only thankful that Holly's dead body did not greet her as well. Slowly, she made her way to the kitchen, her boots crunching on the broken glass of the only three glasses she owned. Her fridge sat open, no cold air in it and rotten leftovers stinking up the room. She'd left it full and the half empty state told her that the young girl had been here for at least a short time. The thought that she'd been the one to trash the apartment never crossed Selina's mind as she reached into the back of a cupboard for a box of stale crackers. She slipped out of her jacket and laid it over a chair after she set it right up again, stretching in the tight purple leather and wondering if she should change out of her suit. Whoever had been here hadn't found whatever they'd been looking for. No one, not even Holly knew the combination or location of Selina's safe. Which was where she'd hidden everything that she might have needed if she ever came back to Gotham.

Four crackers later had her walking over to her bedroom and stepping into her closet. The shelf was high enough for her to stand beneath but no one taller than six feet, so in her boots she had to bend a bit. She pushed aside a few boxes of shoes and tapped the wall, sighing in relief at the hollow sound. She moved the false plywood away to reveal the shiny dark green safe and rolling combination lock. With slightly shaking fingers she glared at, she spun the brass knob and heard the calming click. Behind the door she found various pieces she'd stolen, quiet a healthy stash of money and a small, plain wood box she refused to pick up. She hadn't touched it since the day she'd put it in there; the day she moved in. Her mother's jewelry box held no monetary value and nothing inside would even have been bought by a desperate pawn shop but she secretly cherished everything inside it all the same.

Taking the money and the real pieces from their velvet boxes, she shut the safe and stepped back. She replaced the fake wall and stepped out of the closet, ready to walk back to the door and never return to her apartment, but the air was suddenly chilled and she stopped dead in her tracks. The moonlight shinning through her window hit the blade of a knife, making it glint. A slow, dark, voice came from the shadows along with a figure that she feared almost more than death itself. She remembered those dark eyes, would never forget them, nor the mask that was made from this man's father's very own coffin. "Good evening Catwoman."

"Roman?" Her blood turned cold as her mind flashbacked to a night she would rather not remember. Her sister, her brother in law's corpse. All the blood, and then the straight jacket that followed. She'd chased him off a building that night, and thought he was dead but he wasn't and she'd been waiting every minute of every day and night for him to return.

"Miss me?"

Selina took a look at the scar on his jaw and grimaced, remembering when she'd shot him. When he had come back and tried to do to her what he'd done to Maggie. "Seems like it, care to see if my aim has improved?"

"I won't make the same mistake this time around Catwoman. I know your no kill rule was thrown out the window. Let me ask you though, why did you come back to Gotham."

"I heard about everything that's been going on. I figured I would collect the rest of my things before you all managed to turn this city into ashes." She wanted to move, get out of the corner he'd trapped her into but he was blocking half the doorway and she didn't want to be a inch closer to him.

"Are you sure? You didn't come back for the Bat?"

"What have you done with him?" she took a step forward at that, another voice freezing her once again in her tracks.

"See Roman, I told you she cared." The rest of the doorway was filled now with the broad, tall form of Thomas Elliot.

Selina's heart started racing. She'd heard of Hush before, remembered the stories of his twisted mutilation plots. He did not like her very much either, since she'd been the one to bring him in once she discovered he'd been going around with Bruce's face and laundering money from his global accounts. He perhaps wanted Batman's head on a platter more than most of the underworld, and believed it was his right. She'd never understood why but then again she'd never bothered to give it much thought. Half the time these criminals that she knew, or knew through others were off the rockers. "Hush."

He hummed the lullaby he was named for, making it sound menacing and twisted as she stepped into the room and circled her slowly. "I see you came dressed for the part."

"A girls gotta be prepared. She just never knows when two _gentlemen _will stop by and pay her a visit."

Black Mask smirked at her sarcastic description and fingered the blade of his knife, looking between her and it with twisted glee. "Come now Selina, cooperate with us and it will all be over soon. All we want is our revenge. You can fight, but in the end we will get what we want."

"I'm not going to just let you kill me." She didn't flinch when she felt Hush's hand on her shoulder, only shook him off and stepped to the side. "Sorry to disappoint you boys."

She threw the money at Roman, and the jewelry at Hush before moving towards the window, but before she could get within arms reach of the sill she felt a hand tangle in her curls and tug a fistful of hair. She fell back, looking up at a woman. Selina felt her skin crawling and probably would have felt sorry for her if she had not been the one to keep her from escaping. "So this is who Bruce has been sharing a bed with…"

Selina couldn't take her eyes off the hole in the woman's forehead, so much so that she almost missed the connection. Then suddenly, the realization that she'd been blind to all along slammed into her like a freight train and if she hadn't already been on her ass on the ground she may have ended up there. Suddenly it all made sense; all of it. The connection she felt with Bruce, why she'd been unable to leave him that morning in the hotel until she'd had him. The way he made her feel, the color of his eyes, that voice he'd used in the morning. The familiarity in the kiss that she'd refused to believe had even been there. The scars all over his body. The fact that Hush and Roman had it out for him. The Wonderland attack at the restaurant he'd funded to rebuild, only to make a public announcement the following day that he would once again restore it.

And then last night, he'd been seen at the Iceberg Lounge as Oswald was being taken away. She felt sick, she felt relieved. The man she loved was the man she couldn't resist. The man she loved was Batman, and Batman was Bruce Wayne. She didn't have to choose because choosing one was choosing both. And even though she was currently in the middle of three very angry looking criminals she smiled for just a split second. Then her face hardened and she was no longer Selina Kyle. She was not trapped in her apartment and she was not wondering desperately what she was going to do. She was Catwoman, and she had a plan. She was going to make up the plan as she went along, but a plan to make a plan was still a fucking plan. Quickly she got to her feet, not sure who to strike first.

Hush still held her money in his hands, seemingly amused by it. He'd always been a greedy bugger and while his taste for Bruce Wayne's money had been his weakness, two grand was two grand. "You can keep it." Selina shrugged.

"She's only saying that because she has more hidden somewhere." Roman closed a bit more of the distance between her and himself. "Probably in those bags out there."

The blonde haired woman took a step to the side, giving Selina apparent space to run, but it wasn't for that. Before she could move toward the window again, or back out into the main room Black Mask dropped the jewels to the ground and wrapped his strong hands around her shoulders, picking her up and tossing her on the broken bed. He went after her, pinning her down so she could feel the springs digging into her back. The mattress had been uncomfortable in its prime, but now the metal coils literally cut into her back. She felt the sting as the sharp points cut through her new suit and into her skin but she kept the hiss of pain to herself, knowing that the man above her would only use it against her.

"Give it up Roman." Hush said, stepping forward and picking up the blade that had been dropped when Black Mask had lunged after her. "We're not going to kill her yet are we? I thought we were going to wait until Batman got here, so he could watch me cut out her heart."

"What were you going to do?" Catwoman asked, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out as Roman shifted above her, the springs cutting into her again. "Feed it to him Roman? Like you tortured my sister? Are you going to turn him insane to?"

"Yes, he is." Black Mask sneered, leaning in close to whisper in her ear. "And then, I'm going to kill him, slowly. While he watches the blood drain out of you."

"What makes you think he gives a damn about me?"

Finally the woman spoke up again. "He's been looking for you."

"Shut up." Hush glared at her and she cowered back. She wasn't much of a villain yet, and Selina certainly hadn't heard of her.

"Absence here is a little, new to the scene. You'll have to forgive her."

"Absence?" Catwoman thought back, remembering a woman Harley had mentioned once. She was an ex-girlfriend of Bruce's that had been infatuated with him, even after their breakup. She'd discovered he was Batman and tried to follow him one night, but had been caught in the crossfire. He hadn't even seen her get shot. "How did she survive?"

Hush smirked, almost proudly. "I have many talents Selina, you should know that. I can make my own face into Bruce Wayne's. I can remove someone's heart and keep both the organ and the body alive. Certainly a little gunshot wound is nothing to worry about."

"Don't take all the credit." Black Mask warned. "Strange would kill you if he heard you were giving out the impression you were in that operating room alone."

"Hugo might as well have been handing me the scalpel for all the help he gave me!" Hush's voice rose, but he saw the humorous glint in Catwoman's eyes and retracted. "Enough, all of you. She's trying to distract us, buy time for her lover to get here and rescue her."

"I don't need rescuing."

Selina tightened her legs around Roman's waist painfully tight until he cried out, and then when he sat up, she wrapped her legs around his neck, twisting and throwing him off the bed. She jumped up, hissing this time as the spring ripped a long tear down the back of her suit. Perhaps she should have bought a backup instead of three corsets she wasn't sure were even going to fit. Then she lunged for Hush, really wishing she still had her claws. They fought for the knife, and she'd just gained control of it, holding it to his throat when she felt Absence's fist in her hair again. She turned slightly, digging the blade into his throat as she backhanded the woman against the wall.

"Is that seriously all you've got?" she sneered, watching the woman slump down; still conscious but holding her head. It was clearly her weak point, and she'd smacked it pretty good, falling against it. Hush's hands were free and he wrapped them around Selina's waist, throwing him off her and pinning her down against the floor. He was much stronger than her and she writhed beneath him, but he only put more of his weight down and she had to gasp for air.

"What do you think would break Bruce's heart more hmm?" he asked running the flat side of the blade from one side of her throat to the other, pressing the tip into her collarbone and up to her chin, tracing the lines of her lips. "Watching you die and feeling powerless to stop it? Or getting here just too late to save you and have you already be dead?"

"He won't find me here. He doesn't even know I'm back in Gotham."

"Are you sure about that." Black Mask stood from where she'd thrown him, rubbing the back of his neck and coming to glare down at her. She suddenly felt very small and very scared. One idiotic psycho she could take on, but three; or rather two and a half? After weeks of being out of the shadows and days out of town? She could barely remember the last time she'd fought hand to hand other than Batman and that was only half hearted flirting. When she punched or kicked him it was only to show him he wasn't the boss, not to hurt him. She was out of practice, and it pissed her off. "Give me my damn knife back Thomas."

Hush held it to him, sitting back on Selina's knees so they bent the opposite way. She swore, but he only smirked and set more of his weight on her joints. "What do you want to do with her?"

"You said she was mine!" Absence cried from against the wall, seemingly brave enough to speak up. I only came along with you two because you said you wanted to take the Batman. She was bait, and then I could have her."

"Do you see the Batman here?" Black Mask towered over her, showing her the blade of his knife in the moonlight. "If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll cut it open and you can have a bitch fight with Harley to see who the Joker wants more."

"Leave her alone!" Selina hissed, forcing her legs to relax so that Thomas's weight didn't hurt her as much as it would have if she kept struggling. "She's not like you. Can't you see that?"

"Shut up!" Roman turned back to her, kicking her in the jaw with his boot.

Selina's head snapped to the side and she tasted blood, grimacing when she spit out a tooth. She felt Hush lean over her and sighed at the relief of her knees being freed, but then he lifted her head by the roots of her hair and smiled down at her. The smile was so evil it literally made her shiver. "I think we should go with option two." Then he slammed her head down against the wood floor and everything went black.

* * *

"Master Bruce!" Alfred called, not giving a damn about decorum as he raced through the entrance to the BatCave. He knew he would find Bruce there, knowing the man hadn't left the computers as he was still searching for Selina Kyle. "Master Bruce!"

"Not now Alfred! I have to find her. The hotel said she checked out already. She could be anywhere."

"She's here Sir. In Gotham. Jim Gordon just called and said that one of his officers got noise complaints from the apartment building Selina lived in."

"What does that matter?" Bruce had looked up at the first words, but now he seemed only disappointed and frustrated at the interruption. "That doesn't mean it's her! There are at least fifty apartments in that building."

"The caller also reported seeing a man in a black mask enter her apartment. Think of the riddle. The ones that come next will be the ones you've let down. Who hasn't come for you yet? Who would be the most likely to hurt you, and use her to do it? Who in the underworld has it out for you, as well as her?"

Bruce looked back up at Alfred slowly. "Roman."

"There's more. You shouldn't go alone."

"There is no one to go with me and I can't sit here and wait either. He will kill her slowly, and he will take pleasure in it."

* * *

When Selina opened her eyes again, she had no idea how much time had passed, but Absence was…absent and she found herself tied to her kitchen table like a sacrifice on an altar. Carefully, she tried to test her bindings without making a sound but she found that her ankles were secured well to the legs of the table and her wrists were pulled tight above her head in the same fashion. He couldn't move more than an inch and the rope had no give at all. She was seemingly alone for a moment, though she could hear the two men whispering in the main room. "Why are we playing around? Just go in there and kill her. Screw the game! Oswald is in custody and even if he gets out we'll never get that money now. He'll use it to rebuild his precious club. Even if we bring him Batman on a silver platter neither of us will see a dime of that money."

Black Mask swore and punched something, probably a wall from the sounds of it. "If you want to go, you see the door. I've already had one of you run out on me tonight, I can finish this myself."

"Why, so you can shoot me in the back like you did with her?" Hush sounded disgusted. "You can go to hell."

"This is hell Elliot! Look around! We're in Gotham City where the rich get richer and we sit here looking for scraps. You and I, we had it all. Could have had it all if it weren't for Wayne. Remember that!"

"I won't ever forget that!" Hush growled, and stomped back into the kitchen. Selina considered closing her eyes and pretending she was still out, but she didn't have time. "Seems someone woke up from her cat nap."

Black Mask followed him, sliding a gun back into the inside of his jacket. "So I kill her and you take the Batman? Like we agreed?"

Hush looked down at Selina thoughtfully, considering and then nodded. "As much of a pleasure as it would be to take your heart and watch your eyes as you realize what I've done I think I'd rather be the one to take out the last remaining Wayne. She's all yours Roman."

Black Mask moved closer to the table, leering over her form and pulling the knife out once more. She tugged a little more desperately at the ropes, but it was useless. He ran the blade from her throat down to where the zipper stopped showing skin, and then he hooked the tip of the knife in and pulled her suit the rest of the way open. "Do you know how to gut someone Selina?" he didn't wait for her response, only set the sharp pointed edge beneath her bellybutton and dragged slowly up. He didn't apply enough pressure to break skin, but enough that she could feel it and hold her breath; waiting for the first cut. "You slit them open, from groin to sternum."

The blade reached the base of her throat and he dug in further. She felt it then, the pain and she couldn't help it. She cried out, the sound only giving him more pleasure. The cut was small, but it was sensitive and he twisted the blade as he pulled it out. "If the Batman does find you, he will hunt you down."

"And what?" the Black Masks eyes were all she could see, but she could imagine him sneering behind the wood. "He won't kill me, he doesn't believe that death is justice. At best I'll be sent to Arkham with the rest of them, and let's be honest. How long before I break out? Next time I'll sneak into his bedroom and cut him open before he even wakes."

Selina growled, pulling violently on the ropes, wishing she could get her hands around his neck and strangle him. He was one of the few men that really made her think she was capable of murder. The other was leaning against the door frame watching the scene with interest. "If you kill me, he won't care about justice."

"Are you sure about that?" Black Mask wrapped his fingers through her hair, tugging her scalp so her throat stretched out, causing the tiny wound to open a little more. "Are you sure you mean enough to him that he would break his entire code of ethics? He cares, but does he care that much? Does he care enough to kill for you?"

Selina wrapped her hands around the lip of the kitchen table, her fingers brushing something cool and she had to bite back the smile. They hadn't found her knife. She'd taped it there months ago just in case she was attacked. But ripping it off would only call attention to what she was doing, so carefully, quietly she worked the razor blade out of its case and let it drop into her palm. She squeezed tight around it, praying it wouldn't fall and let out a sigh of relief, even as it cut into her skin. Black Mask laughed and released his grip on her, going back to his torture. He was too busy explaining to her in detail how he was going to cut her up, to notice that she was slowly sawing her hands free from the rope. If Hush noticed, he didn't say anything. She could feel the blood pooling from the wound in the center of her throat, doing her best not to move too much so she wouldn't end up opening it further.

"I thought you said we were going to quit playing games?" Hush asked, a little bored simply standing on the sidelines.

"I don't need you telling me how to do this. I won't be coaching you when you kill Bruce Wayne, so back off." Roman glared at his 'partner' and turned the knife on him. "You saw what I did to that whining brat before. There's still bullets left in the gun."

"I'm just saying, hurry it up before the Batman gets here."

"I know what I'm doing!"

Selina couldn't resist sighing in relief when her hands were free and she sat up, a smirk on her lips as she scooted down the table and wrapped her arm around Black Masks neck, holding the razor blade to his throat. "Are you sure about that Roman?"

"Bitch." He cursed, his head tilting back, but she only pressed the serrated edge closer to his skin. "Help me Thomas."

Hush held up his hands. "You were pretty clear that you had this under control. I need a smoke."

Selina watched as Thomas Elliott backed out of the room. He wasn't going to assist her, but he wasn't going to take part in helping the man that had just insulted him either. "What am I going to do with you?" Selina purred into his ear, taking his knife from his other hand.

She held that to his throat instead, using the razor blade to release her feet. "You've already tried to kill me twice. What makes you think you can do it again?"

"Third time's the charm." Selina shook the rope from her ankles and slid up on the table, wrapping her legs around him in a vice grip, keeping him against the table and his back tight to her chest. She pressed the blade he'd been torturing her with closer to his throat, creating a similar wound on him that he'd made on her. Sliding her free hand into his jacket she took out his gun and held it to the back of his head and then pressed the sharp top of her heel against his spine and pushed him away. Roman turned to face her, his eyes on fire. "You're always underestimating me Roman. When are you going to learn that I'm not some dumb bitch in a leather catsuit?"

"I always pegged you for more of a scared little girl trying to be something she's not. You're not strong Selina. You couldn't save your sister, and you couldn't save yourself. I made you into a murderer. That only gives me great pleasure."

Selina lowered her eyes at him, her stomach churning. This is what he wanted; for her to kill him. For her to do what she swore never to do again. She didn't believe in the same kind of justice that Batman did. There were some kind of people that did not belong in this world, and Roman Sionis was one of them. He brought no good. She knew that if Batman was here he would talk her out of it, he would calm her down and make her see reason, but she didn't care. She didn't want to be logical or reasonable. When she looked past the mask, into the eyes she saw only blackness. Evil and dark and hell. He didn't not deserve to breathe, not when her brother law's corpse lay mangled in a grave and her sister sat insane somewhere staring at a wall with that same dead look in her eyes.

"I won't kill you cold blooded Roman. You don't deserve to die with a smile on your face. I'll let Batman get here and take you away. I can only hope that someone in Arkham will find out what you've done and leave you to choke on your own blood."

She stepped back and lowered the gun slightly. There was fight left in her, but she didn't want to prove him right. She didn't want to let him change her. It would be so easy, to aim the gun and pull the trigger, but taking a life…could she live with that? He took her moment of weakness and lunged for her, but her instincts had her ready and she felt the knife slide into his gut. His blood was warm on her hand and it made her sick, but she held on, twisting the blade around and up, looking into his eyes. "I win." He said, chocking a little on his words.

"I said I wouldn't kill you in cold blood. The way I see it, you attacked me. Self defence, is not murder."

He stumbled back, his hands around the handle of the knife and she let him, watching as he fell back against the fridge. "Whatever lets you sleep at night." He slid to the ground and she moved closer, standing over him.

"I'll sleep like a baby now, knowing that you're dead. And this time, I'm going to watch the light fade from your eyes and it's going to be what I see every time I go to sleep. It won't haunt me, it will calm me." Already he was bleeding out and she pulled the knife out of him, letting the wound take its full effect on his body.

Hush came back into the kitchen then, smelling like tobacco and taking in the sight of Roman dying and Selina standing over him triumphantly. She pointed the gun at him, holding the bloody knife at the ready in case Roman decided to try for her again. "What the hell happened?"

"You missed the show."

"I see that." Even he couldn't hide sounding impressed. "How do you think Batman will feel about his girl committing murder?"

"Let me worry about how Batman will feel about things." With the gun still aimed at him, and one eye on her last captor she knelt next to Roman's body and lifted his chin with the tip of his knife so she could look into his eyes. "Still with us?"

His voice was slurred, but she understood him. "You haven't escaped me. I'll come back for you."

"Not likely."

* * *

Batman landed on the roof of Selina's apartment, having honed in on her window from the next building over. He'd seen her, standing there with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. Her back had been to him so he hadn't seen much more, save for the cuts her new suit were sporting. He wondered how else she was injured. Then he heard a lone gunshot and for one moment his heart stopped. He shot the grappling hook onto the ledge and jumped down, swinging through her window with a crash. She jumped, looking at him, her body ready for a fight. Her apartment had already been broken into by three lunatics tonight, so what was one more? His body tensed, wondering if she would shoot him too. He quickly took in the scene. Black Mask was up against the fridge, either dead or close and Hush lay on the kitchen floor, a pool of blood spreading beneath him.

She seemed to relax slightly when she realized it was him, but her shoulders were tense and her jaw was tight. "You bastard." She shook her head and glared at him.

"Selina, what did you do?" he asked, his tone the same dark one he used in the suit, in the morning, and occasionally in bed. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up but she shook away her relief at seeing him and focused on the anger.

"One's dead, the other should be just about there. A girl in my living room is supposedly dead to, but I didn't shoot her. You've got Roman here to thank for that. Save me the lecture for now and see if your childhood friend is still breathing."

She tossed him the gun, stepping over Roman's legs and walked out of the kitchen. He heard her gasp when she entered the living room, but didn't follow her yet. He checked the body he knew could still be alive and found a faint pulse at his throat. "You're lucky Thomas." He whispered, checking the wound in his chest. "If she'd been two inches higher you'd be dead."

* * *

When Selina heard footsteps she looked up, finding Batman standing in the doorway between her kitchen and living room. She stood from checking the body of the blonde woman. "Her license says Una Nemo. Name ring any bells?"

Selina tossed him the wallet and stepped toward him. He saw the dried blood on her mouth and the already forming bruise on her cheek. He wanted to comfort her, ask if she was alright, but she didn't seem all that ready to be coddled. So he looked down at the id instead and shook his head. "Should she?"

"I don't know, shouldn't Bruce Wayne remember all the women he's slept with?"

"Selina, what-"

"Enough, enough lies. Take off the damn mask. I already know it's you."

He hesitated, looking from the dead body next to them, to her. How easily could that have been her laying there cold? Slowly, he pulled the mask off, looking up at her. She nodded, no smile on her lips, but she stepped forward and lifted her hand to his face, letting her palm rest against his cheek softly. "Selina, I'm sorry."

Then she reached back and slapped him hard, turning on her heel and marching into the bedroom.

_a/n: I thought about having her run into his arms and having sweet romantic music playing, but if I was her I'd be pretty pissed so I'm having her be pissed. Plus, hey…angry make up sex is never a bad thing. Which may or may not be coming in the next chapter._


	10. Chapter 10

_a/n: What's a BatCat reunion without a little dark smut? Enjoy your reward for being so patient with me while I got my footing in Gotham. I apologize if the earlier chapters have seemed..boring. I tried to do my best in making it exciting, but I really wanted to give each villain at least a bit of 'screen' time. Ha! Get it, screen time. Cuz you're reading this on your computer screen versus normal screen time on a tv or in a theater? Yeah, it was funny when I wrote it lol _

He didn't follow her into the bedroom, just stood there with a stinging cheek and waited for her to return. When she did, she had an armful of money and a handful of jewelry. He watched her stuff it all into her suitcase and then kick open the front door the rest of the way, refusing to look down at Una's body as she stepped over it. "I don't know about you but I'm leaving."

"Come with me." He grabbed her arm and she shot him a dark look.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want to be near you at all right now. Not the Batman, or Bruce Wayne."

"You have nowhere to go."

She glared at him, shaking him off. "I have a lot of places to go. Why did I even come back here? To get ambushed and almost killed? No thank you. You don't need me, and clearly I don't need you. I took care of myself just fine in there."

"I got here as fast as I could."

"Ha!" she shook her head and tried to leave again, but he moved faster and blocked the doorway. "Get out of my way."

"Not until you let me explain."

"I don't want to hear anymore lies. Get it? I'm done."

"Selina, please."

She couldn't see the majority of his face, but she could see his eyes and they were pleading with her. He'd been using the deep Batman voice until now, and she could hear the Bruce Wayne in him. Was there a middle ground between the two of them? And could she belong there with him? She could hear the sirens in the distance and assumed the nosy old lady down the hall had called the police at the sound of the gunshot. She certainly didn't want to be here when they started asking questions, and at least she knew he had a fast car. "Fine. One night."

The ride to Wayne Manor was long, and devastatingly quiet. There was no radio she saw that played music. Only police scanners, transmitters and a small screen that probably tapped into his many computers. She didn't ask questions and he didn't offer any answers. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then shrugged, muttering to himself as he pushed a button on the dashboard. She watched, feigning disinterest as the wall opened up and the entrance to the BatCave was revealed. She'd heard other villains talk about the Batman's lair with greed, envy, even fear. None of them knew where it was, and none of them had ever been in it. No one, but her. She figured he must trust her a great deal to bring her here, but she still refused to make a comment about it.

He drove into a section of the cave and parked the car, giving her time to take in her new surroundings. In the center of it all was a large deck with an impressive computer set up. She could see various other vehicles he'd used over time and a particularly interesting looking motorcycle with big fat wheels was directly across from her. She wondered how fast it could go and had to bite her lip to keep from asking. It was childish to give him the silent treatment, but she was still pissed, and even a little scared. They'd left Hush alive, and that terrified her. She may have seen the last of the Black Mask, but Thomas now really had it out for both of them. And since she was a target both as Catwoman and Selina Kyle, there was nowhere safer, or more dangerous to be then with him.

The various sections were built on different levels and she could see retractable stairs he used to get from one level to another. Above them on the right was a state of the art gymnasium and training center. To her left was a hanger for the BatWing, but what really caught her eye was the impressive library room just a few steps from the crime lab. A smaller subsection of the room held a separate set of computers, along with equipment that looked like he'd raided one of the CSI shows. It was all very impressive and her fingers itched to reach out and touch every single inch of it all but she held back and kept her chin taut. There was the sound of running water not too far away and she wondered if it was possible they were close to the waterfall created by the cliffs behind Wayne Manor.

Bruce watched her out of the corner of his eye; saw her taking every inch of the cave in, dissecting it with her eyes and storing all the information she could into her brain. She wasn't 'casing the joint' exactly but he'd watched her enough times that he knew she didn't go somewhere new without discovering at least two ways she could escape if she needed to. She seemed impressed, but was doing her best to remain nonchalant about it all. Part of him wanted to grab her and kiss her. The other part wanted to take her, strangle her and shake her. Instead he only sighed and threw open the door. He wanted to get out of this suit, hoping that when he did she would be a little more willing to talk.

When he stepped out of the Batmobile, he was no longer the Batman. He was Bruce Wayne, and a partially scared one at that. Selina had only gotten more and more quiet as he'd gotten her closer to the manor and he'd literally watched her jaw tighten. She said nothing when he helped her out, didn't even hiss in pain though he knew the cuts on her back must have been killing her. She released his hand the moment she stepped up to the platform, her eyes not downcast like she was shy but they weren't exactly searching now either. He walked over to the case where his suit lived and pulled off his gloves. He hit one of the many buttons on the console, and the main staircase lowered."Give me a minute and I'll get you cleaned up. You can look around."

"I would like my bags." Her tone was like ice, but he kept his back to her, taking the mask from his head and setting it back on display.

"I'm not holding them hostage Selina. They're in the car."

"Are you holding me hostage?" she asked as he took off his cape and laid it over the chair.

He stopped, setting his Kevlar chest plate on the rack and turned to look at her. "I brought you here to protect you. I can have Alfred take you anywhere you want if you really don't want to be here with me. Or you can take the Audi; we both know you can handle that."

Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him through the lowered slits. "Are you trying to charm me? Bond over our night together as if you haven't been lying to me for years! Batman is Bruce Wayne! How did I not see it before? Who else in Gotham could afford all this shit?" She pulled her bags out and then slammed the door of the car and marched forward, letting them drop behind her on the platform. "I know you don't exactly waste your money on just this but really?"

"It's effective. It helps me keep the underworld in control."

"Bullshit it does." She laughed, unable to stop now that she'd started talking once more. She brushed past him and stomped up the stairway, going straight to the library. "All your fancy vehicles and computers are worth nothing if you're dead. They've been ambushing you, using you. They nearly killed me tonight! You have zero under control. This city is the only thing controlling anything, and it's definitely controlling you!"

"I got away remember!" He followed her up; losing his cool. Grabbing her arm and pulling her close, he glared down at her. She wasn't the only one angry, and if she wanted to fight then they could fight.

"For one night. It wasn't even twenty four hours and they'd found you and dragged you back here."

"Only because they tracked my car, which you stole!"

"I didn't know it was your car! I took the keys from Harley and I just left. Are you seriously blaming me for this?"

"No! I'm blaming you for this!"

He grabbed her other arm then, backed her against the closest shelf and kissed her roughly. She could feel how hard he was through the underarmour lining he still wore and against her better judgment she let her body mold to his.

She wanted him, and for the first time she didn't have to feel guilty because he was the same person she'd been dreaming about. "Here? Are we going to do this here?" She asked, slightly breathless as his lips trailed down her neck.

"Have somewhere else close in mind?" He asked, his voice; that voice turned dark and hungry.

"How far away is your bed?" Her fingers were already in his hair, guiding his lips lower as he pulled the zipper the rest of the way down. It sat two inches below her bellybutton but he stopped and looked up at her.

"Seventeen stairs, an elevator ride and fifty steps to my room, ten more to my bed."

She wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him in, hissing when the roughness stung the cut on her lip. "Too damn far." The kiss was angry, determined, frustrated. She wanted more, needed more, wondered just how much more she could take before she lost control. "I can't believe I came back here, for you."

He smirked into her skin as he kissed his way down the opening of her suit. Then he stood, pushing it down from her shoulders and arms so it hung down low around her hips. "Is that why you came back? For me?"

His lips were on her neck, her teeth at her collarbone. He nipped at her one earlobe and then soothed it with his tongue. "It didn't seem like you were alright. The way they made it sound on the news was that the underworld was winning and Batman was nowhere to be found."

He could hear the heavy breathing in her tone, could smell the effect he was having on her. "So did you come for Bruce or for the Batman?"

She paused, meeting his eyes and shook her head. "We're talking too much."

"Agreed." He lifted her then, wrapping her leather clad legs around him and this time she cried out as the shelves dug into her back. They were hardly soothing to the cuts she had already, and she pushed against his chest, looking for relief.

In rebellion he wrapped his fingers around her wrists, holding her arms up against the shelves, his lips moving down her neck. There was something about this side of him that scared and excited her to within an inch of her sanity. Said sanity was screaming at her to run from the room and take the first available flight back to Paris. Something else altogether ordered her to stay just where she was, exactly how she was. Being at Bruce Wayne's mercy was not her particular idea of a good time, but at the moment she'd never felt more turned on. His scent was so much stronger now and she could feel the warmth from his body calling to her. She wanted to be scared at the look in his eyes; the look that made her feel more like a goddess than a piece of meat like she was used to. Instead she felt safe, and she trusted him with both her body and her life.

He held her arms up with one hand, her body up with the pressure of his hips rocking against hers as he quickly undid her boots, letting them fall to the floor. She kicked and wiggled one leg out of the suit as he worked the other free. She wrapped around him again, naked this time, her fingers clawing at his back until the skin tight black shirt was up and off. She secured her lips to the side of his throat, sucking and biting, hoping it would bruise him. She wanted to leave her mark, a real one that wouldn't heal by morning. Together they worked down the sleek black pants he wore beneath his suit to protect his skin from the Kevlar until it was on the floor. Until now he'd been the perfect definition of the Batman; soft and hard. Fair, firm justice; that was how she'd always thought about him. Now, he was just firm, just hard. Hard skin, hard muscles, hard eyes, hard hands.

She gasped as he slid into her without warning, her insides adjusting to him as quickly as they could before he pulled out, only to slam back into her. A few books fell from the top shelf as the bookcase rattled from the duress it was under. She could feel the wood ledges cutting into her back, but she couldn't think about that at the moment. Whatever the hell Bruce was doing with his fingers now felt too damn good for her to care about silly things like bruises and pain. Her nails dug into his shoulders, cutting new crescent marks into his skin. She hadn't even realized he'd released her hands until she heard his curse from the slight pleasured pain and noticed the faint trace of blood under her nails. He pulled her from the bookcase, allowing a few more books to hit the ground.

Selina was torn between wanting him to be gentle, needing him to stay rough. The muscles in her body clenched around him, holding him inside her, against her. The moved to the large, soft ornate carpet and she took great pleasure in the fact that she was on top. He liked being in charge, liked taking her and ordering her around, trying to make her good like he was. He'd always wanted her to conform, to be like him but now; in this moment he was letting her be what she was. She reveled in it, took the opportunity and glowed. She moved for him, with him, against him. Her hands were flat on his chest, holding herself up as she rocked against him. His fingers dug into her ass, into her hips as he helped her move. She could feel it, bit her tongue and gasped every time he hit _that _spot.

She cried out when the first wave of orgasm rocked her senses, and he let her scream. She didn't want to be quiet, she didn't want to be careful. It probably sounded like she was dying, God- it felt like she was dying. With each wave of pleasure she felt a little part of herself break, but it was quickly replaced with something new, something she didn't have the energy to understand at the moment. He didn't stop, felt like he might never stop thrusting into her. It could have been a matter of moments, minutes or hours that their bodies were connected and she knew in this instant that she would never be able to stop wanting more. The climax had taken most of her energy for the moment and she lost the strength in her arms, bending at the elbows so she hovered over him.

She moaned as his lips closed around her nipple, her hands fisting in his hair as he assaulted her with his mouth. The soft warmth of his tongue matched with the sharpness of his teeth thrilled her as he continued to thrust into her. She was still sensitive, shivering and shaking above him. "I'm sorry." She whispered, pulling back to look at him.

He looked confused, his hands tightening their grip on her waist incase she decided to run. "For what?"

"For not coming back sooner. For leaving at all." She bent to kiss him; her lips were against his and she rolled her hips down, reminding him to keep moving.

Their love making was the same as the way they lived. Soft and gentle, then terrifying and exhilarating. Over and over again till it left them breathless and desperate for each other. When she came the second time, she came with him, and it all hit them both at once. She stayed on his chest, listening to his heart beat as he slept and slowly she followed him. The nightmares she'd had in Paris didn't follow her home and for once Bruce stayed asleep for more than an hour at a time.

* * *

When Bruce did wake up, he did so alone again, and for a moment he panicked. Had she run? He took a quick survey of the cave, saw all the vehicles were still there and his heart settled a bit. Then he spotted her, down on the platform. She was still naked, wrapped up in his cape and when she turned to look at him there was a small smile on her face. He stood, quickly pulled his pants on and went down to her, coming up behind her to wrap his arms around her shoulders. She leaned back against his chest, looking out around the cave. "I'm sorry I slapped you."

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Are you really?"

She thought about it, and then shook her head. "No, not really."

Reaching around, he tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. She'd expected a quick peck, but his lips stayed on hers, his tongue forcing her mouth open and she felt herself melting into him. He pulled back suddenly, smirking down at her. "That's what I thought."

"I'm sorry that I'm not sorry." Selina turned in his arms, pressing her chest against his and wrapping both her arms and the cape around him.

"No, you're not." He shook his head, running his thumb over her pouting lower lip.

"Can't you just take accept a fake apology Wayne?" she glowered, a playful light coming over her eyes as she captured his thumb between her lips and taking it into his mouth. He felt her tongue tease the skin, her teeth grazing it and his free hand gripped her waist roughly through the fabric.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Selina."

"How far away did you say your bedroom was again?"

_a/n: hope this smut was a little better for all of you then the first time around. I can promise there will be at least one more sexy scene coming before the end of this fic. But the war is not over yet, and both Selina and Bruce have some demons of their own to fight._


	11. Chapter 11

_a/n: so we finally got some smut, but was it enough for you? It wasn't enough for me *wink* plus I think a little fluff won't kill them, or us. Keep in mind, I did say little.  
__I feel like I should reiterate something; this is AU. As in alternate universe. I have taken things from various aspects of Batman/Catwoman history (because there is more than one) and played around a bit. A reviewer recently called me out and said that Selina can't have a purple catsuit because it isn't current. Well, this story isn't current. And it isn't canon. Honestly, Nolan's movies aren't even canon…so if you can sit back a little and open your mind and enjoy this fic for what it is; fanfiction and not an autobiography of Batman and Gotham than I'm glad. If not, don't leave anonymous reviews I cannot reply to and defend myself. Enjoy all!_

Selina rolled over in the big bed; stretching and yawning. She buried her face in his pillow and breathed in fresh linen and his scent. He was one of the few men she knew that matched his aftershave, cologne and shampoo together. It was all for the Bruce Wayne image, to appear perfectly put together and complete at all times. But she'd seen last night how incredible a messy, sweaty Bruce looked and she wondered if it was just a one night deal or if they were in fact a thing. She sure as hell didn't want to bring it up, didn't want to force anything but this mattress was softer than the one in Paris and the sheets felt incredible on her skin.

She blushed, realizing that all of her clothes were still in the BatCave considering all she'd worn into the house had been his cape. It was still in a black heap at the foot of the bed where she'd let it fall last night, but she didn't want to get up just yet. His side of the bed was still warm, so she knew he hadn't been gone long. Before her imagination started to get away from her she heard him flush the toilet and walk back into the bedroom. She tried to act as natural as she could, relaxing her face and pretending to still be asleep.

Whether he bought it or not, she wasn't sure but he climbed back into the bed beside her, stretching out full and rolled to face her. He brushed a few strands of hair back from her eyes and kissed her forehead. She scrunched up her face at the feeling, wondering where this gentleness came from all of a sudden. Last night, all three times he'd been rash and heavy with her- not that she'd been complaining but this was a different side to Bruce and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

So she did the best she could and peeked one eye open as a friendly warning and then she pounced on him. He laughed, his hands on her hips as she wiggled her way down his body, trying to find a comfortable position. When her hands were settled on his chest and her chin was resting on them she looked up and saw his smile. His usual perfect hair was a mess and she took great pleasure in knowing it was her fingers that has made such a mess.

"Good morning Catwoman." His tone was deep, like he hadn't used his voice yet this morning but she liked it. It reminded her of the Batman and the fact that she was currently weighing him down into a bed they'd shared. She'd captured the Bat for all intended purposes and she was probably the only villain in the Gotham underworld that didn't give a damn.

Still though, she loved the irony of it all. "And to think, all this time I spent seducing you finally paid off. You take me to your lair, show it off and then to your bed where you are completely without any weapons or protection."

Her hand slinked down between them and she watched his eyes close as she wrapped her fingers around him. "Am I supposed to be scared?"

She shook her head, leaving a trail of kisses down his chest as she stroked him beneath the sheets. "No Bruce, you're supposed to be terrified."

And he was a little, never knowing what to expect from her as she slipped under the sheet and disappeared. Then he felt her warm, wet mouth around him, sucking up and sliding down. Her tongue twirled and he felt her moan rather than heard it. Selina tightened her grip on him, smirking as her lips popped when she finally released him. He threw the sheet off, to look down at her and captured as many mental images of her in the moment as he could. She smiled up at him as he reached for her, dragging her up his body and sitting so she was in his lap.

"What am I going to do with you?" He asked, shaking his head.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and tugged his hair back so she could attack his neck with her lips. The bruise she'd left last night was still there but it wasn't big enough to suit her tastes so she went to work, trying to do her worst. He held her close, his hands on her hips, fingers slowly running over the cuts on her back. He remembered last night, rolling over in bed and looking at her watch him sleep. She'd been laying on her stomach, her body propped up by her elbows. The sheet had fallen down around her hips, revealing her bare back and he'd run his hand over it lightly. She'd still hissed in pain however and he realized that he still hadn't looked at her wounds. Playing doctor had started round three and finally exhausted them into sleep.

"I'd hoped the idea was to ravage me." She teased, his earlobe between her teeth as she brought him back to the present.

He rolled then, pinning her between him and the mattress. Every touch reminded her of a moment from the night before, and she shuddered in anticipation; hoping it would feel as wonderful; afraid it wouldn't, that last night had really just been a moment thing. Her body ached desperately for every sensation he'd ripped through her last night, to the point that she didn't care if he was rough or gentle; just as long as he was inside her and his hands were all over her body. His actions answered her silent needs, his eyes flaming as he kissed between her breasts and all the way to her bellybutton. His cool, long fingers teased the inside of her thighs until she opened for him freely. He considered torturing her further, but he was just as desperate to be inside her as she was to have him.

He thrust into her quickly, smiling as she hissed and tightened around him. Her hands wrapped around his arms, holding tightly as they began to move. Slow love making was not on the menu for them, not this time but it didn't seem like she minded all that much. "I'm not against staying in this bed with you all day." He whispered in her ear, biting and sucking at her neck.

"Just don't stop." She ordered and he looked down at her, a smile on his lips.

The sensation of being inside her was similar to last night, but there was something different about seeing her in the morning light. Her hair and skin glowed, and she seemed just the tiniest bit more alive. They were creatures of the night, both of them but in the day they could be something else. They could thrive and enjoy instead of fight and defend. Selina's mind followed the same process until she felt the first ripples of pleasure hit her and the slow burning grew low in her stomach. It exploded into a roaring fire and he lost control with her. They collapsed on the bed together, and after a few minutes of peace she turned her head to smile at him. "Hi." He smirked, looking like the perfect image of the Bruce Wayne she'd heard all the gossip about. Sly lips and sparkling eyes with messy 'just had sex hair'. He was pleased; with her and with himself.

"Hi." She cursed herself, wishing she didn't sound so breathless, so sated.

"How would you feel about joining me for a shower? Then some breakfast?"

She stretched, moaning a little in appreciation and in pain. Between being crammed in that seat on the plane, dealing with bad guys at home and the four rounds with her Batman, certain areas of her body were praying for a break. "I suppose I could go for a bit of both. No nap first?"

"No, no nap. I haven't gotten a riddle yet, so as far as I know today and tonight are going to be bad guy free. Let's enjoy it while the underworld prepares our never ending doom."

"Our never ending doom huh?" she lifted and eyebrow, rolling toward him so their bare bodies were tight together. "Are you forgetting I'm one of those bad guys?" to prove her point she ran her nails down his chest and over his side taking advantage of the fact she'd learned last night during round three that he was ticklish.

He grabbed her wrist and pinned it against his chest. "Just using me for sex and a nice comfy bed then?"

"I haven't decided yet." She pushed up a little, kissing him hard but fast and tugged free from his grip. "So…about that shower?"

* * *

When Selina stepped out of the shower she swiped her hand over the big mirror, looking at herself in the cleared area. Bruce had gotten out ten minutes ago, but the jets were so nice and the water was still hot so she elected to stay while he went downstairs. Her reflection was smiling, and she found it hard to believe that after everything that happened yesterday she could still be smiling. She pushed the thought of Roman away, knowing the guilt and consequences would catch up with her eventually. But Bruce had been right; today was a good day to disappear. Between Black Mask's death and Hush's mouth, word would spread through Gotham and the underworld pretty fast that Catwoman had returned, which meant she was going to have some very angry ex friends coming for her now. But she was safe with Bruce, and if they did come she would be safe with Batman.

A blush stained her cheeks when she entered the bedroom, spotting a well dressed, older man setting her bags on the bed. "Good morning Miss Kyle. I'm Alfred."

"Good morning Alfred." She hugged the towel tighter to her body and did her best to keep her face straight. "Thank you for bringing those."

"Of course. Master Bruce said that you might want to get dressed."

_Master Bruce eh? _She thought with a smile and nodded. "Where is he?"

"Down in the kitchen waiting for you. I'll leave you to get ready then Miss Kyle."

She stepped forward, placing her hand on his arm as he moved toward the door. "Call me Selina please. I don't much care for the silly titles."

He smiled, placing his hand over hers. "I'm not sure quite why or how just yet, but I think I'm going to like you. He was whistling this morning."

And then, as if that explained everything, Alfred turned and left her alone in the large, bright expanse of the Wayne Manor master bedroom.

* * *

Bruce Wayne was sitting at the island when she entered the kitchen barefoot. It took a lot for Selina to be barefoot anywhere but her own home, as it meant a quick getaway would not be as quick. As if he'd timed it, Alfred had slipped from the room, ready to give them some privacy. "You look…refreshed." Bruce smiled, standing to pull out the stool for her as she took in the impressive kitchen.

She dissected every inch of the room with a sweep of her eyes, but she managed to catch the way his gaze stayed on her as she sat down. The burgundy slacks she'd bought in Paris and her favorite crème colored blouse had been right on top so she'd grabbed them first, but from the look on his face he approved. "Surprised I can clean up Mr. Wayne?" He started to shake his head, say something smart but she cut him off. "Or should I say Master Wayne?"

His eyes hardened slightly as he leant against the counter beside her. "I'm sorry?"

Selina had heard him at dinner parties and knew that was his polite way of saying 'ex-fucking-scuse me?', so she smiled, sliding a hand onto his arm so he would know that she was teasing. "I can't believe you make him call you that. The way I see it, he's your best friend."

"He's much more than that, besides it's more of a term of endearment now than a title. Believe me, when he gets mad there is very little ceremony between us and I feel almost like a little boy again when he gets that tone."

Selina smiled in the direction he'd disappeared to. "I couldn't imagine him with any other tone than sweet and charming."

"Just like you couldn't imagine stuffy, suited up Bruce Wayne as the Batman you made out with on dark roof tops." He quirked his eyebrows at her and pushed back from the counter.

She watched him walk to the fridge, once again taking in the sight of the fine, state of the art appliances and the practiced way he rolled up his sleeves. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making breakfast. Unless you wanted to do it."

She set her elbows firmly on the island and her chin in her hands. "Not at all, let's see what you got pretty boy."

Thirty minutes later, Selina wished she could have eaten her words, but she was too busy finishing off the breakfast Bruce Wayne had just made her. It rivaled the room service at her hotel, even his company was far better than the cute boy that had brought her omelet most mornings. "So why Paris?"

His question was fairly random but he'd been finished eating for a while now and grew bored watching her savor every bite slowly. "Um…" she swallowed and shrugged, distracted by the food, by him, by the fact she was sitting in the kitchen of Wayne Manor with the richest man in Gotham that also happened to be the masked vigilante she hadn't been able to keep out of her dreams for years. "No one main reason. Little things have always influenced me there."

"It's beautiful during Christmas." He said, finishing his glass of orange juice and taking her plate from her, even a she stabbed her fork into the last bite of egg.

"Is that a hint that I should have stayed for it?" she asked, watching him set the dishes in the sink and rinse them off. "Or are you suggesting we go back?"

He paused, looking back at her with his arms crossed over his chest. She wanted to focus on his face but the top three buttons of his shirt were undone and her eyes kept going back to the exposed skin. She could see the beginnings of a scratch she'd left on his chest and wondered how far down it went. "Haven't you learned by now that we can't leave Gotham? Something will always bring us back."

"It doesn't have to." She went to him, setting her hands on either side of his neck. "After all this is over, there will be no one left to fight."

He sighed, shaking his head and wrapped his fingers around her wrists; holding her grip to him a moment later and then pulling her arms down and away from him. "It's not that easy. There will always be someone to fight, something to fight for."

"Then pass the mantle on." She stepped back, frustrated, angry, sad, hopeless. She'd finally discovered that the men she loved were the same man, and now she was beginning to realize that she couldn't have either of them. "Let someone else take your place. You can't keep doing this forever, and then what? Try and live your life when you're old and grey and can't walk because of all the abuse your body has taken?"

He could feel the anger radiating off her, and even with all his experience with women he didn't know how to handle her. "I know you're angry. I'm sorry, I just…I can't trust anyone else to do this. It's who I am, what I do. I wouldn't want anyone else to sacrifice themselves for my city when I could just as easily do it."

"You've already given them so much of yourself. When is it going to be enough Bruce? When do you get to enjoy life? You don't owe this city anymore."

"Life isn't about enjoyment Selina. It's about surviving, and giving back."

She shook her head, wondering if he was really this hopeless. "You sound like Ivy. Am I the only one that doesn't want to be here?"

He grabbed her hand before she could walk away, dragging her back to him. "Tell me why you came back."

"It doesn't matter now." She avoided his eyes, but he lifted her chin so she had to face him.

"Did you come back for the Batman, or for Bruce Wayne?"

"I don't know." She sighed, biting her lip. "You…he…the Batman. You're all the same, and at the same time you aren't. I remember the first time I saw you, all dark and dangerous. You didn't scare me, I was still new to it all and didn't realize understand what I was getting myself into. You didn't even know I existed yet, and here I was, and I thought you were incredible. I hid in the shadows and watched you practically fly over Gotham. Then I went to my first upscale party on the arm of some idiot I can't even remember the name of. And I saw you again, and you were in a tux with a glass of champagne in your hand, surrounded by beautiful people and working the room like you owned it. Which, I guess you did. Still, you didn't know I existed, and that was alright. I liked watching you."

He cleared his throat, keeping his eyes on her. "And you kept watching?"

She nodded. "I watched both of you, Batman a little more closely. Then, my crimes got a bit bigger and I got a bit braver and there you were standing in the shadows, watching me like I'd always done."

"I remember."

"How much do you remember? Every time we kissed on those rooftops? The cool night air and the sirens coming for me as we fought not to tear each others clothes off?"

Bruce ran his fingers through her hair, bringing her lips close to his. "I remember the smell of leather and how soft you felt in my arms. I remember letting you get away even though everything I fought for told me I was crazy for thinking I could reform you."

She let him kiss her a little longer than she'd intended, but eventually pushed him back. "And then you figured out who I was, and you still didn't call me out on it until that night when I saved you on the road. I played dumb, pretending I didn't know who you were, hoping you would think I wasn't from Gotham after all but it was too late. You knew, and I get it now. You knew because you were the Batman."

"Why were you running Selina? What were you running from? Was it me?"

"Maybe." She took a deep breath and flattened her hands against his chest. He was strong, he was safe. She didn't want to trust him, trust herself to anyone but he made it hard not to trust. "I wanted you, needed you but I couldn't have you and you knew that just as well as I did. The underworld was getting restless having you beat them over and over again and I could stand by and watch them rise up and kill you. I would never be able to help you fight them all."

"So you knew there was going to be this uprising?"

"No! I mean, I'd heard rumors but they were no different than the ones I'd heard a thousand times. Then I met you, the Bruce you and we had that one night and I left. I thought getting distance from both of you would make it better. That it would get easier, but every day just got harder. I couldn't stop dreaming about you, and the newspapers kept me plugged into what was going on. When I saw the explosion on the news I came back. To fight with you, or for you. Whichever it was going to be."

"So do it now. Fight with me, for our city. For us."

She knew he didn't mean 'us' romantically, but her heart still jumped and she found herself nodding. "Looks like you got a new partner Batman."


	12. Chapter 12

_a/n: so we got our little bit of downtime. Let's get back into the action._

Selina looked up at the townhouse where she'd stayed for a few weeks after her first apartment had been blown up, and took a deep breath. Slowly, she stepped out of the Audi and locked the doors. Bruce had lent it to her, and she wondered briefly if going inside in normal clothes was the best idea. It was the middle of the day though, and she didn't want random people on the street seeing Catwoman going around this particular town at this time of day. Then they would really lock up their valuables and she would have a harder time of getting what she wanted from them. Not that she could explain that to Bruce if he ever asked. Did he think that just because she'd agreed to help him and stand with him, that she was going to reform and quit stealing? It was who she was, and if they did end up together in Paris, she wouldn't need to do it for the money. She would just need to do it because that's who she was.

Not that she'd really needed to do it for the money anyway with the stash she'd acquired in the last few days. Not that it all belonged to her anyway. Rightfully, that money should have been split both ways, and there was still a part of her that hoped the other Sirens would go with her when they left. Gotham is what did this to them. Harley wouldn't have fallen for Jack, been further twisted by him if she'd lived anywhere else. Ivy wouldn't have to stay here and wreck havoc if they could just get her out of the city and away from the only way she knew how to live. A new country, a new name, a new life could change it all for them. Ivy could learn to control her temper, her abilities and Harley could get some real, professional help and rid her brain of the infatuation she had with the Joker. They just needed to get as far away from Gotham as they could, as fast as they could. And preferably before tonight, so that perhaps she could help Batman avoid the fight altogether.

After breakfast this morning, Alfred had come in, interrupting their 'let's team up and take down the underworld' foreplay and with a surprisingly straight face had handed Bruce a dark green colored envelope. A silver question mark had been the only thing on the front, as if it hadn't needed an address. Then he'd left without a word, meeting Selina's eyes for a brief moment. His initial surprise and humor from this morning had gone, and she saw the sadness inside the older man. Just as the appearance of the card had ruined Alfred's mood, she'd sensed Bruce's shift as well. Whatever they'd had planned for the rest of the day was no longer going to happen, because she noticed the hard line his jaw had turned and even without the mask she realized that was his Batman face. Her playful fun Bruce was gone and before her stood the burdened Dark Knight. "What is it?" she'd asked, not getting an answer until he'd opened the card, read it and handed it to her.

Lighter green paper held more silver writing and she felt her stomach drop and she realized it was a riddle. Last night, between rounds two and three he'd told her all about the riddles and clues Ed had been giving him. Like he was trying to warn him, but she knew the Riddler to and her first instinct was to assume that he was simply playing around rather than helping the Batman from the goodness of his twisted heart. She'd read it over and over again, going through the people she knew that had not come for either of them yet and with a sickening feeling in her stomach she realized who it was that was coming next. And maybe, just maybe she thought that she might be able to save them all before it had even started. So she'd convinced Bruce to give her the keys.

If her sources were right Ivy would still be living there. Or at least Ed would know where to find her, and if he wasn't there she would wait for him to come home. Her head already pounded, thinking of the Riddler and the incessant way he spoke to her. Could the man just speak in plain sentences? Would it kill him? As she pressed the buzzer repeatedly, she wondered if perhaps it would kill him if he did talk normally. Finally, the door released and she pushed through it, thinking it would have been faster if she'd simply broken into the townhouse. However, she'd wanted to at least give the appearance that she was coming as a friend. They may know that she was back in town but did that mean they knew she spent the night with Batman? And if so, did they know she'd agreed to work with him? She could have just as easily slept with Bruce Wayne as Selina Kyle and nothing more.

Still though, she knew her friends were not that stupid. Well…maybe Harley but sometimes Selina wondered if that was just an act so others wouldn't expect her to be listening and become a threat. She stepped out of the elevator, looking up and down the hallway just in case. Not that there was a specific just in case, just that it was always better to be aware if you were alone or not. She knocked on the door, knowing there had to be someone in there that would have let her in to begin with, so when she didn't get an answer she turned the knob to test it. It released and she stepped inside, shocked that it wasn't locked. The entire room was dark, but she knew it well and walked straight to the window and threw the curtains open. A hiss from the corner nearly made her jump, and then she turned to see Isis curled into a little fur ball. Her stomach flipped and she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or wary. Crouching down low, she held her hand out to the kitten she'd left behind.

Either Ivy or Harley must have brought her here, and she couldn't help admitting she was glad the kitten was safe and alive. "Come here baby. I'm sorry I left you." She whispered, forgetting for a moment that there was someone still in the apartment.

The kitten slowly moved toward her, sniffing her fingers. She began purring when she realized who it was, and cuddled right into Selina's neck when she picked her up. A sweet voice stepped out of the shadows and she immediately tensed, quite sick of people appearing from shadows after last night. "Are you sorry you left us to?"

The first thing Selina saw was the bright red hair glowing in the light from the window, and then slowly as Poison Ivy stepped out into the main room she could see the woman looked pale and sick. "Why are the windows shut? I thought you needed sunlight to survive."

"I do. It's an experiment."

Selina stepped back as Ivy came forward, knowing her old 'friend' was prone to mood swings and the calm demeanor she walked and talked in was a dead giveaway that she was about to swing. "What kind of experiment?"

"You gave up the right to ask me questions like that when you stole Jack's car and drove off into the sunset."

She knew this was coming, and knew Ivy would flip no matter what angle she took in this conversation. Denial however would probably only make it worse. "The car was already stolen, so let's not point fingers. I know it belonged to Bruce Wayne, who is kinda the stupidest man in Gotham to steal from."

"Why, because he is the Batman?"

Selina shook her head. "What idiot told you that?" She was ready to deny it, but the look in Ivy's eyes told her there was nothing she could say to make her think otherwise.

"Ed was…very convincing when he told all of us. Something about falling into a pit and gaining clarity. You know how the man speaks, it drives me nuts."

"And yet you live with him."

"I live in his home, not with him. Get the distinction. Besides, he doesn't mind."

Selina sneered, preparing herself for anything with Ivy which could just as easily end up being a fight. She set Isis down on the floor, glad when the kitten hid beneath a table back in the shadows. "He doesn't mind because you keep him under your little potion."

"What he doesn't know won't kill him." Ivy smiled, circling Selina in and out of the expanse of sunlight.

"So, this experiment. Is it for the takeover you've all been planning?"

Ivy lifted her finger, waving it in Selina's face. "More questions you don't deserve the answers to. Maybe if you'd been at the meeting instead of betraying us to run away you would know everything that's going on."

"You three won't be able to take him down. He won't let you."

"Are you on his side now?"

Selina thought of lying, but there wasn't really any point. The hostility between the two of them would only get worse if she lied. "I'm not on anyone's side, but I am going to do what is right. You have every intention of killing him now that Oswald will not be there award you're prize. You have nothing to keep him alive but your mercy and I know there isn't much left in you since they took the kids away."

Ivy ignored her comment about the children she'd kept in the park and stepped forward. "Then I guess I'll be seeing you tonight."

Selina felt the hard hit at the side of her head, and then all she saw was darkness. When she woke up, the window was still open but she was alone. Isis's little pink tongue continued to lick at her face until she sat up, cradling the kitten in her arms. She nuzzled her face into the fur, thankful for something familiar even as the dark, sinking feeling in her stomach expanded. Ivy hadn't completely flipped out, and from the feel of it, she still had all her limbs so all things considered this had been a fairly successful chat. It was rare that a conversation with Ivy didn't end with someone getting knocked out anyway. Slowly, Selina stood, waiting for the woozy feeling to dissipate before she tucked Isis into her trench coat and went straight for the elevator. Once the doors closed, the kitten poked her head out, a little scared meow coming from her tiny mouth. "Don't worry baby, I'm pretty sure Bruce Wayne isn't allergic to cats."

* * *

Bruce looked up from his desk, and the riddle when he heard a knock at the door. He smiled, his first since she'd left when he saw Selina's head poke through the door. "Here ya go." She said, tossing his keys back at him.

He caught them, and stood to greet her. He was caught between wondering whether he should kiss her or not when a sound from inside her jacket had him freezing in place. "What is that?" he asked, noticing she had concealed something inside.

A blush stained her cheeks and she began mumbling about Ivy and kittens and lonely until he opened her jacket, catching the kitten before it could fall to the plush carpet. "Her name is Isis." She finally whispered, wondering what he would do. "I know it's a little soon in our relationship to talk about kids and I couldn't find a suitable dog to test out your parents skills, so I thought…a cat."

He caught her sly smile by the end of her sentence and shook his head. "Is she yours?"

Selina smiled and he handed her back the kitten. "Yes. Ivy must have rescued her from the apartment sometime before it was trashed…unless she was the one that trashed it."

"Well the kitten can stay as long as you are."

"Thank you." She cuddled the kitten close and he found it curious that she didn't worry about getting fur on her two hundred dollar trench coat or her silk Parisian blouse.

"That's the only one right?" he teased, sitting back at his desk.

She nodded, set the kitten down on the carpet and came to lean behind him, her chin resting on his shoulder. "You're still reading that thing?"

"Yes." They read it together silently, not sure yet what way to handle the situation best was.

_You've taken down a foe or two, but I've warned you there is more to do._

_Those on their way, want a different price for you to pay._

_It is not one of tears or sweat, this group is the real last threat._

"Ivy confirms, it will be tonight."

"There is still so much we don't know. Did she say they were coming here?"

"No." Selina set her hands on his chest, sliding one into the opening of his shirt so she could feel his warm skin, feel his beating heart beneath that. "She wouldn't really tell me anything, though who knows what she babbled about while I was unconscious."

"Unconcious?" concern clouded his tone as he turned around in the chair, forcing her to let him go. He stood then, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Bruce, really. She only hit me once. I think."

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go alone." He shook his head, glaring at her. "I just got a partner, I'd like to at least keep her till after the fight tonight."

She smiled back, hoping he was teasing but she could picture him leaving her just as easily as she could imagine them flying away to Paris and living happily ever after. At least for a little while. But as he leant forward to kiss her forehead and her eyes closed she had to swallow a few tears and order herself not to let them escape. She wasn't meant to be with either of them, and after tonight they would both come to terms with that fact. Both Bruce Wayne and the Batman belonged to Gotham, and neither could ever belong to her. And if she really thought about it, that was alright in the end. She didn't need him, not if he didn't need her. She could survive without them both, couldn't she?

"Hey." Bruce whispered softly, bringing her eyes level to his. He'd finally noticed she wasn't in the room with him. "Come back to me."

She remembered the last time he'd said that; the morning in the hotel. Things had been surprisingly less complicated then. Now, she felt like the world was spinning on its axis, and she had no control to stop it. "I'm here." She pressed up on her toes and kissed him, not sure how many more times she would get to do that before tonight.

* * *

Slowly, Selina's mind started coming back to her and she tried to lift her head from where it lay against her chest. All she got in response was a throbbing pain and the knowledge that she had been hit very hard. Whoever had taken her had dressed her thank God, and she moved, feeling the new purple catsuit clinging to her body. Her cowl and goggles were not on her head though and she ached to brush her hair back from her face. Then she felt the ropes around her wrists, and that she was tied to something with her hands behind her back. It wasn't a chair, for she could feel the cold cement beneath her and behind her. She could hear creaking, rusted metal and broken carnival music somewhere nearby and the smell that had just begun to reach her nose told her that she was at the Joker's abandoned carnival.

And for one fleeting moment she seriously regretted coming home. Then she remembers Bruce, and she remembered Batman and how they were one and the same and she smiled. She was still sore from the day before and the night following but she pushed through the pain and forced her eyes open, taking in her surroundings. One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut and she wished she hadn't taken that punch from Harley but even as she squinted she could make out two figures coming toward her. Harley's thin, high pitched giggle was unmistakable and the second figure walked with such a sensual grace she knew it was Ivy. Had they sensed she had woken up, or were they planning to come for her now anyway, kill her while she was out?

And where the hell was Batman?

_a/n: so a little bit shorter of a chapter this time, but that just means we're getting closer to the end. Will Selina and Bruce have a happy ending? Or will Gotham swallow them up? Is it even possible to have a happy ending in Gotham?_


	13. Chapter 13

_a/n: oh to hell with it, more smut won't kill us right? Plus, mixed in with action hopefully just makes it epic._

Batman could taste the blood on his tongue, but he couldn't spit it out thanks to the gag in his mouth. He couldn't see when he opened his eyes either, and he could feel something tied around his head, blocking his vision. He could hear however, and he heard perfectly. The creaking metal, the twisted overplayed carnival music. The smell of rust and dirt and literal death filled his nose, and he knew just where he was. The thought sickened him and he flashed back to the last time he was here, wondering just how he'd ended up back here and where Selina was. Had she been taken when he had? Was she even still alive? No doubt, his captor would take great pleasure in watching him, watch her die however, so he knew that at the very least he would get to see her one last time. Seagate Amusement Park had long since been abandoned but the Joker had taken it over, began turning it into his own personal park of horrors as it where before being taken back to Arkham. One of the many times.

Aside from his speech and sight lost to him, he found it near impossible to move. He was laying flat on his back, restrained well enough that he couldn't get up. He moved his feet gently, just shifted slightly to see what was holding him. He felt tight metal shackles around his ankles and his wrists. He was strung up on something cool but wooden instead of metal. It smelled of rot, he could differentiate that now that he was more awake. Two senses gone made the others stronger and he tested his holds once more. Without help he wasn't getting out of here anytime soon. The Batman did not appreciate feeling helpless, especially knowing that the Joker was behind it all. A man with two thousand kills under his belt that also carried a severe personality disorder around with him was someone to be a little more than wary about.

Where the hell was Selina?

* * *

THREE HOURS BEFORE

"Hey." Bruce sensed that she wasn't really in the room with him. Her eyes had clouded over and she looked far away. "Come back to me."

He'd spoken the words before in the hotel, the first night they'd spent together. He'd known who she was, but she'd had no idea he was the caped crusader that she'd been dodging and following and teasing over rooftops. Things were more out in the open now, more honest. They knew everything, or most of what two people could learn in a twenty hour span. "I'm here." She whispered, and he held her tightly as she kissed him.

He could feel the kitten winding between their legs and wondered how she'd worked her way into his heart just enough to get permission to have a cat in the house. Then again, he'd already let one into the house, so what did it really matter. He wound his fingers through her hair, his palm around her neck as he held her kiss. He felt her tears on his cheeks and pulled back, noticing that she was crying just a little. He didn't think Selina was the kind of woman to bawl her eyes out and get all red or puffy but the realization of what was coming for them was getting very real and she must have felt it like he had. "Don't." he shook his head, wiping away one of the tears with his thumb. "Everything will be alright."

"What if it isn't?" Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment and he could tell she hated crying. He could feel her cheeks tighten as she ground her teeth together. She wanted nothing with being weak, especially in front of him.

"Don't you have any faith in the Batman?" he teased, trying to get her to smile.

She didn't, and it broke his heart just a little bit. "We're never going to Paris are we?" her voice was so low, so quiet it wasn't even a whisper.

"Paris is overrated. Like Hawaii." He brushed her hair back from her face with his fingers and tilted her chin up.

"No it's not. It's perfect, and I wanted to share it with you."

"Are you really scared about tonight?" she hesitated, finally nodding when their eyes met. He stepped back, and held his hand out to her. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" she asked, nevertheless, letting him drag her out of the study and up the stairs. He didn't answer until they were back in his bedroom.

"There is a very real chance that one, or both of us won't make it till morning." He shut the bedroom door, locking it as he turned back to face her. "I don't want to think like that, but going into this with overconfidence will only make us less careful. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to give any big declarations about feelings... We've always been better with actions. If we never get another night together, I want to make this one worth it."

She seemed to appreciate his honesty, because she nodded and melted into his body when he wrapped his arms around her once more. They undressed themselves, each other, but it wasn't hurried. They were on the clock, with no idea when the fifth threat would strike; but neither could think|AS of that. They closed off from the darkness of Gotham and got lost in each other. There hadn't been a lack of passion in the previous times they'd shared their bodies with the other, but there was definitely something different about this time. Their movements were deliberate rather than frantic, and even Bruce had to catch his breath as he settled over top of her on the bed and slid into her slowly.

Her eyes shut tight, her legs wrapped around him, her toes curled, her nails dug into his shoulders, but it wasn't violent like he was used to from her. She held him close for another reason altogether, the same reason he moved within her so slowly. It wasn't sex, it wasn't fucking. It was making love, and it was something that neither of them had experienced in a long time. He felt her body shiver beneath his, heard every little gasp she let slip from her mouth. He pressed kisses to her forehead, her cheeks when he couldn't reach her mouth or when he was too pleased to cut off the little sounds she made. He rescued her bottom lip from her teeth as she bit it in an effort to silence herself. "What are you doing to me?" she whispered, pressing her lips to his neck.

He felt her hand slip into his as he gripped the pillow above her head, and he laced their fingers together, holding her in place. "What does it feel like?"

She smiled, turning her head to kiss the inside of his arm. "It feels incredible." She didn't want to say _those _words first anymore than he did, so she distracted them both and tugged his hair in an effort to get a kiss.

When the bedroom door opened thirty three minutes later, neither Bruce nor Selina stirred. Not even when a high pitched giggle broke the beauty of silence. A quite 'ow' followed it, but there was no more talking after that. Long, pale green fingers pulled a vial from hiding and undid the cap. As Selina took a deep breath in, she breathed in the perfume of the vial, but was too asleep to notice that her heart rate slowed down and she couldn't have moved without assistance. Carefully, quietly, she was dressed in her cat suit, as the same vial was held beneath Bruce's nose. They were trapped in their own bodies, in their own sleepy minds as a button was discovered, pushed and the doors to a wooden closet in the corner opened to reveal the newly delivered Batsuit from the cave below.

* * *

Batman heard a loud clapping of hands, and then finally his blindfold was pulled back to reveal the Jokers large red smile. The mouth opened wide, laughing with glee as he danced around the large wooden spinning wheel Bruce was currently shackled to. Normally a petite young woman would be cuffed here and the magician would throw knives, just missing her every time. Bruce had a sinking feeling there was more of him than the wood to hit this time around. "You've come to play again with me Bats. Welcome!"

"Where is Catwoman?"

The Joker shook his head, wagging his finger at the hero. "All in good time, let us have a few minutes to catch up. Didn't you miss me old friend?"

"If all you wanted to do was talk you could have just used the phone." Batman replied dryly, earning a cackle of a laugh from the villain.

"You were always so clever. So funny. Not as funny as me of course, but still…"

"I don't call creating murder and mayhem a comedic way to live your life."

The Joker waved his hand, circling Batman once more, tugging on the shackles to test how well he was captured. The strength apparently pleased him for he came around to face Bruce again, his hands behind him, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Hardly, I've had tons of fun. Now, stop me if you've heard this one; 'How does Batman's mom call him for dinner?'" Bruce remained silent, glaring at his foe through the mask. "No, nothing? Shame. Fortunately that one was just a warm up."

"Where is Catwoman?" Bruce repeated, earning a frown from the Joker.

"So insistent on finding your little love aren't you? Love truly is blind. You don't get to see her yet; right now it's just you and me. We have a special arrangement, do you realize that? A kind of ying-yang thing. Tweety and Sylvester, Holmes and Moriarty, hats and gloves. You need me just as badly as I need you."

"There is nothing that I need from you, other than to know you are locked up somewhere far away from all of us here."

The Joker cackled and grinned. "That's just it! Don't you see? You could make me disappear forever if you really wanted to! But you don't! You can't!"

"There are times you could have killed me and you haven't. What's your excuse for that?"

"You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of righteousness and I won't kill you because you're too much fun. We are destined to do this forever."

"Forever is a very long time, and I don't intend to spend it with you."

The Joker shook his head, his smile faltering a little bit. It seemed he was a little hurt from the fact that his 'old friend' did not seem pleased to see him. "The Batman needs a Joker, someone to give him purpose."

"You're crazy." Batman shook his head, knowing that in some weird twisted way this all could have been prevented. "That's why you torture me isn't it? You blame for what happened to you?"

"Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another." He began pacing back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back once more. "You were there, but you weren't. Did you push me into the chemicals? Were you the reason I fell at all? If you hadn't been there to stop something that didn't need to be stopped would it have happened? Would I have even heard of the Batman?" then he paused, looking up. He fingered something between his hands. "I don't hate you because I'm crazy. I'm crazy because I hate you."

Then he threw the razor card, and it stuck deep into the wood on Batman's left side. He seemed displeased that it hadn't caused any injuries so he produced another one and aimed again. "It wasn't my fault that you became this person. If you hadn't agreed to helping those men none of us would have even been there."

The memory had the Joker stumbling a bit when he stepped forward. "You don't know anything about that night. They were going to kill her if I didn't go through with it!"

"She was already dead!" Batman yelled back, tugging on the restraints.

The Joker lost any control he had left, leapt up onto the platform and held the razor card to the exposed cheek the mask didn't protect. "How would you like to smile even when you're frowning forever like me?"

"Mr. J!" Harley's voice pitched across the yard, freezing the Joker before he could do any damage. "She's ready for you."

Both men looked, seeing an severely beaten Catwoman begin dragged between Harley and Ivy. Her head lolled side to side as the women walked with her.

_a/n: some of the lines that I had Jack speak are literal Joker quotes. I thought it was a good way to get inside his head, to use things he'd previously said in the comics. He and Harley are my second favorite couple in the whole Batman universe, for reasons I have yet to determine. Two more chapters I think until we are done with this story and I can get back to Delena and my next BatCat project._


	14. Chapter 14

_a/n: The Joker is a very…intimidating character. He has a large fan base so it's important for me to do him justice. My fingers are crossed that my Jack is alright._

* * *

_And where the hell was Batman?_

Across the carnival grounds, on the other side of the old Ferris wheel from where the Joker and Batman were sparring, Catwoman, Harley and Ivy were locked in a battle of their own. Selina had been released from her binds but was currently being held with her arms behind her back as one vine from Ivy's arm came out and wrapped around her throat. Already one of her ribs was screaming from the beating she'd gotten and her head seared with pain from where she'd been hit with something before she'd woken up. The cuts on her back had nearly healed, but her suit was forever ruined and in the struggle a few of her wounds and reopened and begun bleeding again. Harley pulled her grip harder, the vine tightening every time she gave an answer that Ivy did not like. "Did you really think that you could just leave us? Leave this city and get away with it!"

"I came back!" Selina chocked out, trying to fight against Harley. The chemicals Ivy had put into her system were making her weak; too weak to really fight back. Instead she tried to focus her energy on keeping her eyes open.

"But you didn't come back for us did you? You came back for him!" While Harley may understand love and devotion, there was no room in Ivy's chest for a man; for a heart. The only thing she loved were her plants and her cause to create a better, green world. Her goal was pure if not misguided, but it was her methods that made her evil.

"You were all going to kill him. What was I supposed to do?"

The vine tightened and Selina felt herself beginning to black out. The world around Ivy became fuzzy, her voice far away. "You were supposed to stay gone."

"I couldn't." she wasn't sure if she was speaking as slurred as she heard herself, but either way she knew she couldn't stay conscious much longer.

Ivy produced the vial from between her breasts and held it beneath Selina's nose again. "You should have tried harder."

* * *

Batman looked on as Catwoman was dropped to the ground without ceremony. Harley ran to the Joker, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek loudly. "We didn't kill her, just hurt her real bad like you said."

"I'm so proud." He smiled down at her, looking up at the Batman and rolling his eyes. "Go back to Ivy while I have a little talk with the Batman."

Harley sauntered back to the other women, crouching down low to the ground to whisper something in Catwoman's ear. The Joker paid no attention to them now, his eyes only for the Dark Knight. "It doesn't have to be like this Bats, you know that don't you? All you would have to do is say the word, I would let you down and you could join our little family. Why, I know Ivy always had a little thing for you. And Selina is already part of us. What would it hurt?"

Batman shook his head, disgusted. "You're mad if you think I would ever even consider that."

"Madness is a glorious thing old friend; an emergency exit. All you have to do is step outside; close the door and you're free."

"Free from what exactly? Sanity? Reason? I am nothing like you, I could never do the things you've done. The only thing you are free from is a conscience."

"You think you're so high and mighty, even stuck up there like a pig ready for slaughter. I could end you in a moment, yet you talk as if a big red line stands between you and me, like we're not equals! Well let me tell you something there _Batman; _there is no difference between me and everyone else! All it takes is one bad day to reduce even the sanest man alive into a lunatic. That's how far the world is from where I am; one bad day."

"Bad days happen all the time Joker, I don't see anyone else walking around like a derange clown!"

Jack sighed, his hands clasped together in front of him, his thumbs twiddling. He'd been angry before, loud and on the verge of violence but a sense of calm had come over his voice and he began rocking back and forth on his heels again. "You've had a bad day before haven't you? One of the baddest; one of the kinds that changes you. Changes everything for you. Otherwise you wouldn't dress yourself up as a flying rat! You had a bad day once and it drove you just as crazy as I am. Only I can admit it!"

"You admit that you're crazy, but can you admit why?" Batman challenged, one eye on the villain, one on Selina. She was just waking up; he could see her fingers moving slowly in the dirt.

"I went crazy when I saw what a bleak, awful place the world had become. What a joke it all was. I can admit it, so why can't you?"

"The world has become an awful place because of people like you; men like you that think they can just take what they want. Why have you let yourself become like those men that killed her? They took your wife, your unborn child and instead of learning from it, you only take loved ones from others. You've created your own hell."

"Oh no, Batman. It's you that's in hell." The mask of calm snapped and the Joker took a step forward, his eyes blazing with anger and hatred. Normally their conversations were twisted humorous with a side of creepy, but this; this was deeper. This was the ultimate showdown. Everything was going to come out tonight. "Why weren't you there before? Why weren't you there to stop them before they killed her? Before they took my life and my sanity? If anyone's created a hell for themselves, it was you. So easily, you could have been at the right place, the right time. Instead you were chasing us, trying to stop something that didn't mean anything. Didn't her life mean something? Did it mean nothing? Some do-gooder you are! Can't even save a women and her unborn child!"

"Is that why you hate me Joker? Because I couldn't save the only people you've ever loved? Because when the time came to save them or stop you, I went to the chemical plant? You were the one that agreed to help those men steal. You could just as easily taken her and run as agree to go along with them. It was your fear, your greed that killed her and that is what's driven you the craziest. Not the hair or the skin; just the fact that you were the one that could have changed it all and you didn't!"

The Joker glared, and for a moment Batman thought he might actually have snapped his old foe. There was pure hatred on his face, and Bruce braced himself for whatever was coming. He was so tense, that when the Joker burst out laughing he nearly jumped. "Behind all the stern eyes and the flashy toys you are just a little boy in a black suit mourning and missing parents you will never see again. You couldn't save them, you couldn't even save yourself. So now you try to save the very thing that killed them; this city! This cesspool of a city! Can you see the lunacy in that?"

"Change the subject all you want, but we both know the truth deep down inside. You can't love anymore, you're incapable of it and it's because you killed the one person that loved you the most. And that is why you try to kill the only person left in the world that can stand you."

The Joker's eyes darted towards Harley, seeing tears running down her cheeks. She was sick with jealousy over what she'd learned about his past, angry with the Batman for what he'd said, but she couldn't move and she couldn't speak. If the Joker told her to jump, she would. If he told her to cut open Selina's throat, she would. No matter what he said, what he did, her devotion to him was real and strong. The Joker knew that, could feel that and even though he did not return her loyalty, he did feel stronger from it. He was not outnumbered tonight, and he would not go down without a fight. "I can take it Bats. I can take anything you throw at me."

The Batman had taken the Jokers distraction as opportunity and worked one wrist out of the cuff. He'd taken the razor card from where it had sunk into the wood, and wrapped his hand around it, putting his arm up as if he was still held, just as the Joker turned around. "Anything?"

"There is nothing you can't do to me that I haven't done to myself, that hasn't been done to me already."

"It was your fear that made you weak before Joker. Now it's your lack of fear that will be your downfall." Batman threw the card as if it was a Batarang, watching as it connected with the Jokers face, slicing his cheek open, a inch off the original smiling scar.

The Joker cursed, plucking the card from his skin and threw it to the ground. "You think you can take me on? Think you have me all figured out? Think you're so smart? Tell me then, what is it that you are really scared of? Not saving the thief in time? Failing to keep the city out of my hands? Or is it that you are scared of becoming like me, of taking the step and finally admitting that you are in fact as crazy as a bat?"

"I am nothing like you Joker. I give a damn about this city, and the people in it. It wasn't Gotham that killed my parents. It was a desperate man, made desperate by the harsh streets and the dirt of this city's shadows. If someone had been there; someone like me it wouldn't have happened. That is why I do this, not because I'm crazy, not because I won't admit I'm like you. I do it because I am nothing like you."

"Then do it! Protect this city! Do the one thing you could never do and end it all!" Jack demanded, wiping the blood from his mouth on the dark purple coat sleeve. He stood, staring at the Batman, waiting. Neither made a move, they just stood there waiting for the other to jump. Finally, the Joker laughed, shaking his head. "You can't do it, not without becoming like me. It's okay; I can't kill you without losing the one person that can keep up with me. If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny." The Batman didn't speak, but he did think. He didn't believe, couldn't believe; _wouldn't _believe that he was as crazy as the Joker. He did however believe that the Joker was not the only villain in the situation. It was the morals, the promise he'd made himself, the deal not to kill that kept him from protecting this city. He could end it; end it all. The murder, the mayhem, the pain, the destruction. He could end the hell so quickly, so simply. He could save lives, just from ending this one…but did that make it right? Did that make it okay? "We're one and the same, don't you see that Batman?" the Joker called him back to attention, back to the moment. "Can you accept it now? Why be a disfigured lunatic when I can be the Clown Prince of Crime? Why be a sad orphan when you can be the Dark Knight? We didn't like who we were, so we improved ourselves…well the way I see it we are never done improving ourselves. Upon recent reflection, I discovered that there is one thing holding us back; holding both of us back."

"And what is that?" Batman asked as the Joker climbed the few steps up to his level.

"The most dangerous part of us all; our hearts." The Joker came forward, releasing the holds so Batman fell in a black heap on the stage. His muscles were disoriented; asleep from being tied up, from the chemicals Ivy had put into his system and they tingled painfully as he tried to move. "Come here darling." Jack motioned to Harley and she obediently leapt up, taking his hand. "Do me a favor, and step into the shackles."

She looked at him with wary eyes, but complied and slid into place. Her ankles were quickly snapped shut into the metal cuffs, as were her wrists. "Now what?" she asked, her forehead crinkled as if she was confused, clearly this had not been a part of the plan he'd told her.

"Stay there pet." He grabbed her chin with his thumb and finger, pressed a hard, chaste kiss to her lips and went over to Batman.

Bruce was just about up when he felt a brutal kick to his side and he collapsed back on the stage. "Are you finished with your insane babbling yet?" he coughed, earning himself another kick, this time right off the platform; landing on the dusty ground.

The Joker leapt down after him, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to Selina's body. She was awake now, but still weak, still beaten. Ivy was a few steps away, but she moved even further when the Joker shooed her back. "Say your goodbyes now." He dropped him within arm's reach of her, leaning back to watch.

_a/n: i kinda want to explore both couple's dynamic, especially under this kind of pressure. maybe more of that in the next chapter if the writing will let me._


	15. Chapter 15

_a/n: sorry I haven't updated in a few weeks or posted in general at all. The last time I posted I did four one shots and the last chapter for this fic in one day so I was a bit exhausted but the year is almost over and I wanted to get this story finished before the 1__st__ of January! Hope you're all still out there reading and waiting for the exciting conclusion. Nearly at the end now!_

Batman reached out, clasping Catwoman's hand in the dirt. "Selina." he whispered, wiggling her fingers, trying to get a reaction from her. "Everything will be fine. We'll get out of this."

She opened one eye and looked up at him. He saw the already black and blue bruise beneath the other, the swelling keeping it shut. Her tongue darted out to lick her dry lips, tasting blood where it had split thanks to one of Ivy's smacks. "Don't let him win."

Jack let out a laugh, claping his hands together. "You're so sweet to lie to her Batman. To comfort her at a time like this, but see that isn't true love." He turned back to Harley, taking a big step onto the stage and waltzing around her. "True love is about honesty, because we must be honest with the women in our lives."

"Mr. J…what exactly are you doing?" Harley's voice was trembling and it was clear to all of them she had no idea what was going on.

"Quiet." he threw her look and her mouth snapped shut. With wary eyes he looked back at Batman. "You see, I've lied to Harley today. This very morning when I told her the plan I left something out." He ran his finger down her cheek, over her lips and wrapped his hand around one of her pigtails, pulling it sharply. "Do you remember the plan my little pet?"

Harley's eyes squinted from the pain but she nodded. "Ivy and I were to sneak into Wayne Manor. If Catwoman was there we could have her as long as we didn't kill her because you would need her. We were to deliver the Batman to you. When we were done with her, we were to bring her to you so you could force the Batman into the ultimate test. He would either have to kill you, or watch you kill her right in front of us all."

"Very good." The Joker smiled proudly, patting her on the cheek twice hard enough it could have been called a slap. "Now here is the rest of the plan…the part I didn't tell you." He began pacing back and forth on the edge of the stage, teetering slightly as if he was toying with himself. "It's not that I want to break the Batman…oh no…besides, it's been done before. We've lost him both mentally and physically and frankly life is a bore without him." Jack threw a look at the Batman. "I could never really want you dead, though I do sometimes wish it." He continued, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his pants and then taking the back out to fiddle with the buttons of his jacket, then back into his pockets. "I need a Batman, I adore the Batman. I want him for my very own, the only problem is he hates me. He feels like he doesn't need me."

"No one needs you." Bruce spat, clasping Selina's hand tighter, hoping she would give him some strength. He was seconds away from leaping onto the stage and wrapping his hands around the Joker's skinny neck.

Jack held up a long finger, waving it slowly in the air. "It's not nice to interrupt Batty." He took a deep breath and continued. "To make the Batman need me, I need to take away everything he loves, everything he thinks he needs and we start here, tonight; with the woman that's been keeping his sheets warm. Of course, all is fair in love and war so I can't possibly ask him to give up everything for me when I won't give up anything in return…" The Joker spun on Harley with flourish, stalking toward her with suave and misplaced grace. "which is where you come in my darling Harlequin."

"Leave her alone Jack!" Ivy finally spoke up, stepping over both Batman and Catwoman. "You know you won't go through with it, so there is no need to scare her."

The Joker rolled his eyes, sighed in exasperation and turned on his heel to face the green skinned bombshell. "No one asked your opinion Poison Oak. Scram."

Ivy glared at him, even more displeased at the use of his nickname for her. "You want to itch Joker? I'll make you itch." she held out her arm, the vine beginning to creep out towards his throat and the Joker began to back up closer to where Harley was chained up. His face was twisted with grief and fear, but before Ivy could get close enough he'd taken a razor card from his pants pocket and sliced the vine in half. "Fuck." she let out a scream, cradling her arm and dropping to her knees to pick up the vine, holding it to her chest the way a mother holds a child.

He looked down at her, a wicked grin on his face. "Maybe one day you'll learn not to interfere with me." Then he reached down, wrapped his fingers in her long red hair and dragged her to the edge of the stage and threw her off. "Stay down there where you belong or I'll do more then cut off a prickly vine."

The Batman felt the last effects wearing off and he knew his strength was nearly fully restored. He stayed on the ground still, tugging on Selina's hand and trying to get her to stay awake. "You'll feel better soon." he promised, seeing her nod faintly in the dirt.

The Joker cleared his throat once, louder a second time and then quite pointedly a third time, stamping his foot. "Can I have your attention please? Come on Ladies and Gents'! Step right up and watch the show. This is all for you, my darling best friend…the Batman!"

He took a bow with flourish three ways to a invisible audience while producing a card from his pocket. "See this card?" He asked, projecting, though there were only three other people and none of them were interested in what he had to say. "This is no ordinary card! It's razor sharp, can cut through almost anything." He winked at the Batman. "We're going to be testing it out on Kevlar in the new season! For now though, we know for certain how well it works on skin. Why! I could carve a whole turkey dinner with this very card and it would still be ready for the job I have for it tonight!"

He turned towards Harley, flipping the card between his fingers. Her eyes were wide, afraid. "Please."

He leaned close, whispering but loud enough that everyone could hear. "Don't beg dear, it's pathetic. I know when we're home and I've got you tied up I demand it, but here is not the time or place."

Harley nearly whimpered but one stern look from the Joker had her eyes downcast and her bottom lip still. "Yes."

"Good." the Joker grinned, trailing the edge of the card up her bare arm, barely making any contact. He didn't break the skin, just left a long red scrape until he got to her wrist. Then, with a flick of his he cut into her, kissing her hard to keep her silent. Blood trickled down her arm and when he released her lips she gasped in pain, letting out the scream he'd been hoping to muffle. "Hold still." he ordered, making quicker work of her other wrist.

"Stop him." Selina whispered, her one eye opening again. "She's nuts, but she's my friend. We can't let him kill her."

"If I stop him, he will kill you."

"He'll kill us both anyway. You've got to put a stop to this."

Batman glared at her. "I can't do that. I won't take a life."

"He isn't life Bruce…he's death and destruction. If you won't do it, I will."

"Don't." he gripped his hand tightly around hers, not so much comforting as warning. "You don't want more blood on your hands."

"It's not just your fight _Batman, _you aren't the only one he tortures. Harley, Ivy, me…this city. We all have the right to take him down a peg until he falls flat on his ass; dead."

"It's not your fight."

"Then fight it!" she pushed his hand away, pressing herself up. "Stand for something all you want but don't let it be your downfall."

He didn't appreciate being scolded, but Jack had turned to see Catwoman standing up and he was instantly on guard for the both of them. "Want to play Kitten?"

"Sure, I'll play." Selina flexed her fingers, missing the claws she'd had with her old costume. She knew she would have been able to carve up his face like a Christmas Eve turkey. "What's the game?"

Joker turned to face, completely ignoring the whimpering Harley. He took a stack of cards from his back pocket and fanned them out before himself. "Pick a card, any card?"

Catwoman sauntered toward the stage, throwing a look over her shoulder at Batman. He had gotten to his feet, but didn't look like he was about to run a Batarang into the Clown's heart either, so she kept her act up. She let him leer down at her, tower over her because she knew that was what he liked; to feel better than the next guy and since she was taller than him without the boots she thought it would be better to stay on low ground. "That one." she pointed to one that was poking out a little more than the others.

Jack plucked it from the rest, flipping it back and forth between his fingers. He tucked the rest of the deck away and held out his hand for her. "Come up darling. Let's see what you've chosen."

Tentatively she held out her hand and let him pull her up. "Now what?"

"Now tell us your card." he flippmed it up so the right side was toward her. "Come on, don't be shy."

Her eyes darted over to Batman and back to the card. "King of Hearts."

"Ahh." The Joker looked pleased. "Exactly what I was hoping for. Step right up, King of Hearts." He swept his arm wide and Bruce took a step forward begrudgingly.

"What are you up to Joker."

Jack shook his head. "No funny ideas, we're in the middle of the game. Now, here is the only rule you need to know. One of us here will die tonight. One of us here will be set free from the traps our hearts have put us in." He faced Catwoman, pointing the tip of the card in her direction. "Let's start with you." she said nothing, her eye on the card. She knew from personal experience just how sharp those could be. "Your heart is your weakness. You were out of the city, out of the country. We couldn't find you…and yet you came back. For him, for the misguided, mistaken love you felt for him." Jack pointed one long finger at the Batman as if he was the villain.

"I did, I did come back for him. I came back for Gotham too, for my friends, for my home."

Jack sneered and her heart sank, realizing she'd given him even more ammunition to hurt her with. "Your city eh? Your friends eh? All things you care about because of your heart!" He leapt forward, holding the pointed edge of the card against her skin. She didn't move, afraid if she backed off he would simply slit her throat. It was what he wanted anyway, to hurt the Batman. She'd seen him kill before, knew the malice and pride he took from it. "I could fix that for you! I could wipe the slate clean!"

He dug the card into her skin, not teasing her like he had at first with Harley, instead going straight for the cut. He drew a bloody heart around where her real heart beat and it took all her self control not to grab his arm and break it. There was pure hatred in his eyes, a little lust and a sliver of pity. He truly believed he was setting her free, that he was setting the Batman free; and maybe he was. The scariest thing about Jack, was that there was always slight truth to whatever babble came out of his mouth. He leaned close, his eyes widening and his teeth gleaming in her face. "I'm helping you Selina. I know you believe it deep, deep, deep down."

"I wouldn't believe you if you told me the world was round." She lost her last string of control and pushed his arm away, earning a deep gash across her chest. Gritting her teeth at the pain she kicked him square in the gut, right off the stage. He landed in a heap on the ground, dust and dirt settling around him. Batman looked down, seeing the Clown at his feet. He had his hand tight around a Batarang.

Jack smiled up at him, not mocking, not pleading but knowing. He knew, to his core that the Batman would not- could not end him. "Come on Bat's." he eyed the weapon, smirking at that. "You know you can't do it."

Selina kept one eye on the men as she slowly crept back towards Harley. The girl's bottom lip was still trembling with fear but Selina shook her head and held her finger to her mouth. She quickly released Harley, catching her before she could collapse on the stage. Selina felt the girls blood all over her, felt the weakness in Harley's body. "Get up." She whispered, ignoring her own pain from her own wounds.

"Here." Ivy appeared at her side, seemingly brave after seeing Selina stand up to Jack. "Wrap these around her wrists."

Long green fingers held out two scraps of green fabric she'd ripped from her body suit. Her breasts were really threatening to topple out now, but Selina didn't comment. She took one makeshift bandage and quickly tied it tightly around one of Harley's wrists while Ivy attended to the other. "Can you stand?" she whispered to the blonde girl, smoothing her bangs back from her face. She had a hard time thinking of her friend as a psycho at times like this. Times when she was battered and beaten and hopeless.

She nodded slowly, letting both girls pull her up. She'd already lost a lot of blood but there was fight and hatred left in her eyes, just enough to push some adrenaline into her body. Selina and Ivy leapt down off the stage, and then helped Harley down too. They finally focused on the men again, wondering what they'd missed. The Joker was still flat on his back; the Batman was crouched low to him holding the razor sharp edge of the Batarang to his throat. "See!" Joker exclaimed, gleeful eyes and a slap worthy smile on his face. "Do you see now! No matter what I say, no matter what I do, who I threaten…you will never be able to end me! You are weak Batman. You let your heart and your head get in the way of what you need."

Harley stepped forward, shaking off Selina's grasp. "If he won't do it, I will." She pulled a knife from her boot and leapt toward him.

The Batman jumped back to avoid the blow and the blade, but was too late in grabbing Harley and pulling her off. When they looked down at Jack he had her knife deep in his chest. She'd stabbed it all the way in to the handle, her arms and legs kicking as she tried to get Bruce to let her go. "Calm down Harley!" Selina demanded, coming around to the girl and grabbing her arms.

"I'm going to kill him!" She breathed through clenched teeth, her eyes on fire. "Let me kill him!"

"Let her go." Ivy drawled, her eyes on the dark brown, dead vine hanging from her arm. "If you won't do it, let her."

"Shut up." Batman tossed his retort at the red head, feeling Harley go limp and still in his arms. Slowly he released her and she slumped to the ground, crawling towards the Joker on her hands and knees. She pulled his head into her lap, brushing his hair back from his face, begging him to open his eyes. She was weeping, already apologizing.

"Let's get out of here." Selina tugged on Bruce's cape, stepping back from the scene. She threw a look at Ivy but she held green hands up in surrender.

"I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. I could just as easily be dead after what we did to you both today. I can't say I'll spare either of you next time, but I won't chase you now."

"You'll forgive me if I don't thank you." Selina glared, pulling on Bruce's arm now. Jack was still lying on the ground seemingly unconscious. "Don't expect a Christmas card."

Batman pulled up, halting her dragging. "I won't just leave them here. They need to be taken back to Arkham."

Selina glared at him, shaking her head. "Then make a call on the way home, but I'm not going to stand around one more minute."

"Then go. I'll meet you."

She released her grip on him, taking a step back. "Enough Batman, let it go."

He grabbed her tightly, pulling her against him. "I can't." He kissed her hard, keeping her close and molding her body to his. "I'll see you soon. Go."

She stumbled when he shoved her back, unable to read his face well through the mask, but his eyes confirmed to her that everything would be alright. She said nothing, just turned and ran. She waited until she was far enough way to back track and climb high up on top of the Tunnel of 'Mad' Love building to watch them off in the distance. He wasn't Bruce right now, he was the Batman; and he was magnificent. He'd tied up Ivy, and managed to pull Harley away from Jack's body and secure the both of them. Eventually she heard the sirens off in the distance and watched her Dark Knight disappear into the shadows. She waited a few more beats, knowing he was watching himself. When Gordon and the Arkham doctors arrived she left, looking back once more to see Harley and Ivy being forced into the van as Jack's seemingly dead body was dragged away.

_a/n: hope you guys loved the battle. I know it was a little drawn out but I did struggle quite a bit. Hopefully it didn't show too much. One more chapter to go. Will they find each other? Will they end up in Paris? Is Jack really dead? _


	16. Chapter 16

_a/n: if you hated it let me know. If you loved it, especially let me know. If you want more BatCat tell me that too. Pretty sure there will be more in the new year. I'm sorry I didn't get to it until now. Here's the end._

Bruce had been right; Paris was beautiful during Christmas. There was snow on the sidewalks, on the buildings, on the green wreaths around each lamp post. It fell in big fluffy flakes from the sky and if it hadn't been so cold it would have been perfect. She bent her neck low, hiding her nose in her scarf as she walked into the wind, her gloved hands deep in the pockets of her trench coat as she fought through the crowds of last minute shoppers. Up ahead she saw a woman drop her bags and a man stop to help her collect everything that had fallen. She smiled into the scarf, then quickly the smile faded. It had been three days since she'd left Gotham. Since Bruce had tricked her into getting on the plane and coming here alone. Three sleepless nights she'd slept in the penthouse suite all alone.

She'd barely eaten, hardly left the hotel and yet she refused to call him. He said he was coming; and he either would, or he wouldn't show up. And she was going to pretend that she didn't care which it was. Following the final battle with Joker they had met up at the Batcave, but it was no sooner than morning and he was taking her to the airport and shoving her onto the big Wayne Enterprise 747, promising her he would be there as soon as he could. He'd given the pilot instructions to take her anywhere she wanted but not to let anyone know. He wanted her safe, away from everything and everyone that could hurt her. Well, he'd done it. He'd managed to seclude and hide her completely and she had wondered briefly, over and over if he'd only sent her here to get away from her. She shook the thought away for the hundredth time and cursed herself.

He wouldn't do that.

She'd been keeping track of the news in Gotham, hoping it would give her some clue but there had been no Batman sightings and from what she could tell The Misfit Trio of Death was still successfully locked up in Arkham. She knew it was only a matter of time before one or all of them broke out, as was such a common occurrence with those nutjobs, but for now she could breathe easy knowing her city was safe. The wind was getting a bit too chilly to stand so she turned and headed away from the park to an even busier street and hailed a taxi. It was time to go back to the room and hope her bed wouldn't be empty again tonight. Spending Christmas Eve alone wasn't exactly a new tradition for her, but that didn't make it any less depressing either. When she was safe and warm in the cab she pulled her phone from her pocket and checked her messages. Still nothing.

Her heart sank and she let her shoulders sag back into the seat. Screw this. Screw him. If he couldn't even be bothered to call then she couldn't be bothered to care. She wouldn't think about it anymore, and she certainly wouldn't cry about it. He was Bruce Wayne; and the Batman. There wasn't a more unattainable man than that. It wasn't like she was in love with him or anything. He probably would never think of her again. Or if he did, he would stay away to keep her safe. Cut all ties to make sure that no one in Gotham ever found her again. That seemed like a very Batman thing to do; both protective and annoying at the same time. Her heart sunk in her chest and she stuffed her phone back into her pocket. Tomorrow was Christmas. She would order everything from the room service menu and ate until she threw up.

There was a plan!

* * *

Bruce fought to get through the crowd of people just as she slammed to door to the taxi. He held his arm up, waving at her but she didn't look back. She hadn't heard him call her name either and all these crazy French people did nothing but get in his way. He knew what hotel she was staying at however and threw himself into the next available cab.

* * *

Selina had gone straight up to her room, ordered champagne and promptly undressed. She left her clothes strewn all over the floor from the front door to the bathroom. Who was there to stand on ceremony for anyway? Philippe knew her schedule well and would just come into the room, leave her champagne, take his tip from the dresser and leave until the next time she called him. He'd always been such an excellent steward. As the hot water beat down on her tense shoulders and she let it soak her hair she did her best to push all thoughts of Bruce Wayne and the Batman from her mind. The Gotham dirt was gone from under her nails now, and though the smell still lingered in the air every now and then like a sick memory she'd done her best to cover it with flowery shampoos and perfumes. She wasn't Catwoman any longer, and slowly she was starting to be okay with that.

Her new catsuit was still in the bottom of her suitcase though, ready for her if she ever should need it again, but she wasn't going to be stepping into it anytime soon. Not if she had anything to say about it. Gotham was cold. Paris was beautiful but still cold. She had an itching for somewhere warm for the new year. A beach perhaps. Warm white sand under toes and the heat tanning her skin. Cool drinks with little umbrellas served to her by muscly, dark skinned pool boys. That sounded like a great next stop. There would be jobs to take, or to avoid depending on what she would need. Money wouldn't be a problem, not for a long time. She just had to stay smart, use her wiles and remember to never get to comfortable. It was not safe to get comfortable. That's when stupid things like love and trust get in the way and mess with the whole plan. Things she could not afford to subject herself to again.

When the water had lost its heat she shut it off and stepped out. The fluffy white robe was warm and she sighed a little as she wrapped it around her wet body. Combing her fingers through her hair she stepped out into the main room, letting the steam from her shower come with her. The lights were out, casting shadows everywhere but there was a large patch of moonlight coming in through her window. The curtains were drawn, spotlighting the silver serving tray with the already popped bottle of champagne and the two half full glasses. Philippe never brought two and he certainly never poured for her. She drank straight from the bottle and that was the way she liked it.

Then there it was, the familiar hum in the air, the spark of electricity and she stepped out further into the room, letting her hand wrap around the wooden post of the bed. She peered into the four corners of the room, trying to see into the shadows. "What the hell took you so long?" she demanded.

Bruce made a sound, half chuckle, half relieved sigh and stepped into the moonlight. He looked tired, but in one piece. "I had things to take care of, to settle. Dick came back from college and there were things that needed to be explained." He swiped both glasses from the tray and walked toward her, determined but nervous.

"Too many things that took up so much time you couldn't be bothered to call?" she ignored the glass he held out to her, brushing past him to grab the bottle. She stared out the window, clutching it to her chest. She hated that she was angry at him, that she wasn't running into his arms like she'd imagined herself doing, but he'd scared her, worried her, pissed her off and part of her wanted to claw his eyes out.

"I know you're mad." He spoke evenly, almost as if she were a child about to have a temper tantrum. "You have every right to be. I'll even let you slap me again if that will help."

She felt him come up behind her, watched his arm reach out and set the empty glasses on the tray. He'd drunk both of them? Well fine then. She took another big swig of the bubbling liquid and wiggled her nose at the light headed feeling. She knew she was going to give in to him, it was only a matter of time. She'd missed him too damn much, and now that he was standing so close it was hard to remember why she was angry. "I don't want to slap you Bruce. Not at the moment, but I reserve the right for later."

She saw their reflection in the window, saw his hands hover in the air over her waist before he let himself touch her and pull her back against his chest. "Estates had to be settled, bonds sold, papers signed. Dick has control over the Wayne Estates until I return."

"And Alfred?" she asked, feeling her muscles already beginning to melt in his arms. His fingers found the tie on her rope and was gently trying to get it to release. He wasn't being very stealth, but then again, he didn't need to be. They both knew it was inevitable.

"He'll be somewhere nice and warm by New Years. I thought it was time for vacation. For the both of us."

"So you left the little bird all alone in the big bad Wayne Manor. Don't you think he'll get scared and lonely?" Selina let out a sigh as she felt the robe loosen and fall open, felt Bruce's cool fingers work over the skin of her stomach. One hand went up, the other down but neither close enough to a destination to do any good.

"I've got Jim Gordon keeping an eye on him. Besides, I think he and Barbara are getting along pretty well. She offered to stay at the house and look after things."

Selina sniffed at the mention of the girl. "She still obsessed with becoming your new Bat in training? I've seen her follow you around like a little lost puppy."

Feeling bold, Bruce reached up, cupping one of her breasts in his hand and teasing her nipple. "Don't be jealous Selina. Red heads aren't really my thing."

"No?" She tilted her head back against his chest, looking up at him. She was too aroused now to be angry. At least for the moment, and his touch felt so good she couldn't resist any longer. Tomorrow they could argue, tonight; right now she just wanted him in that bed. "Tell me Bruce, what is your thing?"

He looked down at her, his other hand slipping away before reaching its goal of discovering how wet she was. Instead he wrapped his fingers in the collar of her robe and slowly pulled it down her shoulders until it fell on a heap at their feet. "You." He wrapped his fingers in her wet hair, tugging the back of her head so her neck fell. His lips found hers, devouring her with a kiss as he held his hand to her neck and kept her tilted at the right angle. "Sexy, crazy, brunette in leather that can kick my ass just as easily as let me fuck her until the morning."

"I'm not wearing any leather." She wished she didn't sound so breathless, but this was what he did to her. Made her weak and she loved it, relished in it, for there was no one else that could. That she would allow to get close enough to see her like this.

"Naked works just fine for me." He moved his kisses to her throat, pressing her up against the window.

Selina felt her nipples harden and her skin erupt in goose bumps from the cold, but she didn't complain, not when she could feel his strong body pressed so closely behind her and how hard he already was. "What if I don't like your clothes?" she asked, rubbing up against him even as his kisses trailed across her shoulder blades.

"This suit cost more than this entire suite." He teased, gripping her hips tightly and digging his fingers into her skin. "What don't you like about it?"

She felt him ease up on her a bit, just enough to let her turn around in his arms before he pressed her bare back against the glass. It was slightly warmer from the first contact of her skin but the winter freeze still made her shiver. She might as well have been outside naked for all the warmth she felt. "Well…this tie." She said thoughtfully, fingering the dark silk before reaching for the elaborate knot and working it open. "It makes you look so stuffy. Sexy, but stuffy." She let the tie slid through her fingers to the floor, looking up at him with a smile. Then she smoothed her hands down the lapels of his jacket, feeling the soft linen and back up, tightening her fingers around the collar, pushing it down his arms. "Doesn't this feel like a straight jacket? How can you move properly in it? I see you move more fluently in Kevlar than in this."

"It's not too bad." He pulled her back from the window, started walking her towards the bed.

"And these shirts." She shook her head slowly, working each button open one by one. "Starched and perfectly ironed like armor. You don't need it here. None of it, not when you're with me." Her fingers found his belt next, then worked his fly open and forced his pants down his hips. "Be naked with me Bruce. Make me forget why I'm so angry with you."

"If avoiding that slap means keeping you in this bed, I don't see us ever getting out of it." He picked her up, tossed her on the bed and quickly kicked his feet free of his shoes, socks and the pants he'd tangled around his ankles in the process.

Selina laughed as he fell onto the bed next to her, but within minutes neither of them were laughing. They were a tangled, sweaty mess of moans and sighs and grunts as he buried himself deep inside her and they worked each other up to a new high. There was frenzy and excitement and passion that equaled the desire and lust and devotion. They made love until they couldn't move and then they lay together for a long time, too afraid to let go, to content to think of moving. The clock on the wall dinged midnight and Selina looked up where she'd been laying on his chest. "Merry Christmas Batman."

He smiled, lifting her chin for a kiss. "Merry Christmas Catwoman."

The snow fell outside the window, covering Paris in a fresh blanket of snow, but they didn't leave the hotel room the next day to enjoy it. Instead they stayed in bed, got comfortable and finally took the long needed vacation they both needed. Gotham would them back again, but not today. And maybe not tomorrow. For now this time was theirs, and they were going to cherish every moment of freedom they got.

_a/n: so as you can tell, this was meant to be published around Christmas but between wrapping presents and dealing with family there just wasn't time. I do hope that you enjoyed it just the same and that you did approve of the ending._

_Quickly jump to the next page and read the epilogue, but only if you are interested in a sequel. Yes, that's right…I'm a glutton for punishment and I want more of this! Do you?_


	17. Chapter 17

_a/n: so….when I originally came up with the idea for this story I'd spent a great deal of time on the actual riddles. It was important to me that they be…somewhat believable. Slightly cheeky, slightly taunting, a bit dark. Luckily I had a great deal of help from my own personal Batman, but there was one we came up with that I never used in this fic and I decided to keep it for the end in case the idea/ opportunity for a sequel really became a possibility. I don't know about you, but I definitely want to write it…so here goes. _

_This chapter is quick and short, but hopefully it gets you all going and inspires you to subscribe and watch your inboxes for a new story that should be coming sometime in February or March._

Selina wiggled her toes in the sand and pressed her weight onto the one hand as she used to other to shade her eyes. She could see Bruce walking towards her, all bare shouldered and tanned with a big smile on his face and two drinks in his hands. The dark blue swimming trunks he wore hung nicely on him and she wondered how loose they were without undoing the white string. Could she get her hand in there and tease him a little without anyone noticing? Could she entice him into the water for a little one on one? The thought went onto the back burner as she felt a finger tap her on the shoulder. "Excuse me Miss. Message from the front desk."

Selina looked up at the waiter and smiled. His skin was dark and he was cute, just as she imagined it would be. "Thank you Enrique." She took the folded white card, barely noticing the green ink on the front. It simply said her name, and Bruce was already dropping beside her on the sand, handing her the sweating glass of fruity tasting alcohol.

"What's that?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her.

She could taste the beer on his tongue and eyed his own fruity drink for a moment. Now was not the time to question him on how much he'd been drinking. Not if she wanted to get him in the water. "Some note. Should I read it?"

"Might as well." He lay back on the sand, bringing his aviators from the top of his head to cover his eyes as he let the sun beat down on him. "Who's it from."

She opened the thick white cardstock, nestling her drink into the sand so it wouldn't fall over. She opened her mouth to answer him, but upon reading the words she felt all of the air leave her body. She gripped the note so tightly it crinkled then ripped in her hand. Her eyes kept darting from the condemning words to the flourished 'R' at the bottom. Their little piece of heaven was over. Slowly, she read the words, her voice shaking. She no longer felt the heat from the sun or the comforting feeling of sand under her toes. The chilled darkness of Gotham crept into her blood, cooling her from the inside out.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that. Can you solve my new riddle Miss Cat?

You fought the first battle, thrived and won,

but that was simply the beginning. Here comes another one.

There is more to come back; this time watch out for the one that broke the Bat."

_a/n: There were a lot, I mean A LOT of villains that I didn't put into the story for this series and I really wanted to give everyone their own little showing. So…if enough of you are excited I will definitely be going through with it!_


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